11-11
I like days like this. The U.S. still writes dates in the month-day-year format, while the rest of the world (at least the parts using Arabic numbering) uses the day-month-year format. Which really, if you think about it, makes WAY more sense.
But on days like today, it doesn't matter, 'cause it's 11-11-09 or 11-11-09. Yay :)
There are municipal elections in Israel today. Our polls are open from 7am-10pm, but we do not have the day off work like we will for the national elections in February. However, for people who have to commute or generally work very long hours, their employers must give them enough time to vote today. It's pretty darned cool that the LAW states that. Unless something drastic has changed without me knowing, I'm pretty sure that there aren't many places in the US, if any, where the law requires that people have the opportunity to cast their ballots.
Our elections are weird. For municipal elections, we cast two separate ballots. One is for mayor, and one is for the party we'd like to see representing the city council.
We vote in a very old-fashioned way, too... they record that we've come. They give us envelopes -- one yellow, one white. We walk behind a cardboard divider and pick one piece of paper with a candidate for mayor's name -- also yellow -- and put it in the yellow envelope. We pick a white piece of paper with the symbol for the political party we'd like to see on the city council, and put it in the white envelope. We don't seal the envelopes. We walk out and put the envelopes into a box -- and poof! We're done. Very hi-tech.
On one hand, it seems like a municipal election is no big deal. On the other hand, we're talking about voting for the human component of what will have control over the holiest place in the known universe. We're talking about G-d's city, in which He Himself allowed a recognizable presence of Himself.
It's true that really, G-d runs the show now, too, so maybe it doesn't even matter who we vote for. On the other hand, He's made it pretty clear that we ARE supposed to be involved in our lives... in making the world a better place... so as weird as it seems that a mayoral/city council election could be one of the most important elections I've ever taken part in, I really do feel that way.
In other news, I've begun my 38th year on this planet. I turned 37 on 20 October and 1 Cheshvan, which were 10 days apart this year. For my first birthday, it happened to be on the eve of Simchat Torah, so I had friends over for ice cream sundaes after shul. For my second birthday, I went to a Torah lesson by my favorite teacher in the evening, then went to Rosh Chodesh tefillot at the Kotel and brunch with friends in the morning/early afternoon before going to work. I also hosted Shabbat dinner that week for a few friends.
I've been at my job about 2.5 months now, and I love it. Everyone I work with is terrific -- smart, funny, kind, patient, etc. The hours work well for me and are flexible enough that I don't have to be at work at the crack of dawn - or what passes for the crack of dawn in my world, which is 9am. ;) We get good benefits, like subsidized lunches, a fun day from work, snackies in the afternoons, all the coffee fixin's we could want, and a foosball table in the break room. (Korrie, the snackies aren't nearly as good as the ones in your office, but I'm glad, 'cause I would gain like 200 pounds if I worked in your office. ;)) I do not have to make phone calls.
Best of all, though, is that the job is intellectually challenging. I've been blessed with good brains, but I've rarely had the opportunity to put them to use -- and certainly not for so many hours, so many days in a row.
I'm still learning Torah whenever I can... there's webyeshiva.org, where they have interactive classes online. Plus my yeshiva, Simchat Shlomo, usually broadcasts the classes on the Internet and has them available in archives. Plus I go to one or two live classes/week.
I went running last night for the first time in a loooong time. The weather has finally cooled off, and I've acclimated enough at work that I am still human when I get home. It was an awesome run, though I remembered today that it's going to take a while of running outside before my body acclimates to the allergens. My eyes were dry and sore all day today.
All in all, life is amazing. I've hit some hard spots and, thank G-d, gotten over them. I have a great job and wonderful friends and teachers. I see and feel G-d's love on a daily basis, partly because I live in the place where it's easiest to see and feel.
I'm still working on improving myself, and I'm still looking for a husband... but meanwhile, I'm still more at peace now than I think I have ever been.
In fact, I'm so at peace that when someone on facebook posted a group picture from high school, it didn't even phase me. I've been getting back in touch with some people from elementary, middle and high school, and while I remember being miserable most of the time I was there, and I remember clearly how I felt, I've been blessed with forgetting most of the actual occurrences that were so hurtful. So now, it's like I get to meet people and automatically think of them as good people, without remembering what they were like 30 or 20 years ago. And in this case, the forgetting is beautiful, because we're all so different now than we were then, that it doesn't really matter what we were like then.
(Yes, there are one or two people I remember clearly in a negative way, and a few people I remember clearly in a positive way, but for the most part, I'm fairly neutral about most of them.)
I am the same person I have always been, yet I'm able to look at the world in a totally different way. That allows me to respond much differently, of course. I don't get stressed about much anymore, 'cause there's really no point. Most of what I might get stressed over I can't do anything about anyway, and then stressing at that point is a complete waste of time. If it's something I *can* do something about, well, then I have to decide -- do something about it, or stop stressing.
As my mom has in the signature of her email -- Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.
So yeah, look at things in a good way, and poof! they're good. Try it, it works.
Now I'm going back to my regularly scheduled life... which basically means playing on facebook a bit more, reading some Tanach, reading some Stephen King, and going to bed.
I wish you all a beautiful day... a beautiful night... a beautiful week... etc. You should all be blessed with health and happiness, and visiting Israel soon (anyone wanna bring me running shoes? ;))
G'night :)
But on days like today, it doesn't matter, 'cause it's 11-11-09 or 11-11-09. Yay :)
There are municipal elections in Israel today. Our polls are open from 7am-10pm, but we do not have the day off work like we will for the national elections in February. However, for people who have to commute or generally work very long hours, their employers must give them enough time to vote today. It's pretty darned cool that the LAW states that. Unless something drastic has changed without me knowing, I'm pretty sure that there aren't many places in the US, if any, where the law requires that people have the opportunity to cast their ballots.
Our elections are weird. For municipal elections, we cast two separate ballots. One is for mayor, and one is for the party we'd like to see representing the city council.
We vote in a very old-fashioned way, too... they record that we've come. They give us envelopes -- one yellow, one white. We walk behind a cardboard divider and pick one piece of paper with a candidate for mayor's name -- also yellow -- and put it in the yellow envelope. We pick a white piece of paper with the symbol for the political party we'd like to see on the city council, and put it in the white envelope. We don't seal the envelopes. We walk out and put the envelopes into a box -- and poof! We're done. Very hi-tech.
On one hand, it seems like a municipal election is no big deal. On the other hand, we're talking about voting for the human component of what will have control over the holiest place in the known universe. We're talking about G-d's city, in which He Himself allowed a recognizable presence of Himself.
It's true that really, G-d runs the show now, too, so maybe it doesn't even matter who we vote for. On the other hand, He's made it pretty clear that we ARE supposed to be involved in our lives... in making the world a better place... so as weird as it seems that a mayoral/city council election could be one of the most important elections I've ever taken part in, I really do feel that way.
In other news, I've begun my 38th year on this planet. I turned 37 on 20 October and 1 Cheshvan, which were 10 days apart this year. For my first birthday, it happened to be on the eve of Simchat Torah, so I had friends over for ice cream sundaes after shul. For my second birthday, I went to a Torah lesson by my favorite teacher in the evening, then went to Rosh Chodesh tefillot at the Kotel and brunch with friends in the morning/early afternoon before going to work. I also hosted Shabbat dinner that week for a few friends.
I've been at my job about 2.5 months now, and I love it. Everyone I work with is terrific -- smart, funny, kind, patient, etc. The hours work well for me and are flexible enough that I don't have to be at work at the crack of dawn - or what passes for the crack of dawn in my world, which is 9am. ;) We get good benefits, like subsidized lunches, a fun day from work, snackies in the afternoons, all the coffee fixin's we could want, and a foosball table in the break room. (Korrie, the snackies aren't nearly as good as the ones in your office, but I'm glad, 'cause I would gain like 200 pounds if I worked in your office. ;)) I do not have to make phone calls.
Best of all, though, is that the job is intellectually challenging. I've been blessed with good brains, but I've rarely had the opportunity to put them to use -- and certainly not for so many hours, so many days in a row.
I'm still learning Torah whenever I can... there's webyeshiva.org, where they have interactive classes online. Plus my yeshiva, Simchat Shlomo, usually broadcasts the classes on the Internet and has them available in archives. Plus I go to one or two live classes/week.
I went running last night for the first time in a loooong time. The weather has finally cooled off, and I've acclimated enough at work that I am still human when I get home. It was an awesome run, though I remembered today that it's going to take a while of running outside before my body acclimates to the allergens. My eyes were dry and sore all day today.
All in all, life is amazing. I've hit some hard spots and, thank G-d, gotten over them. I have a great job and wonderful friends and teachers. I see and feel G-d's love on a daily basis, partly because I live in the place where it's easiest to see and feel.
I'm still working on improving myself, and I'm still looking for a husband... but meanwhile, I'm still more at peace now than I think I have ever been.
In fact, I'm so at peace that when someone on facebook posted a group picture from high school, it didn't even phase me. I've been getting back in touch with some people from elementary, middle and high school, and while I remember being miserable most of the time I was there, and I remember clearly how I felt, I've been blessed with forgetting most of the actual occurrences that were so hurtful. So now, it's like I get to meet people and automatically think of them as good people, without remembering what they were like 30 or 20 years ago. And in this case, the forgetting is beautiful, because we're all so different now than we were then, that it doesn't really matter what we were like then.
(Yes, there are one or two people I remember clearly in a negative way, and a few people I remember clearly in a positive way, but for the most part, I'm fairly neutral about most of them.)
I am the same person I have always been, yet I'm able to look at the world in a totally different way. That allows me to respond much differently, of course. I don't get stressed about much anymore, 'cause there's really no point. Most of what I might get stressed over I can't do anything about anyway, and then stressing at that point is a complete waste of time. If it's something I *can* do something about, well, then I have to decide -- do something about it, or stop stressing.
As my mom has in the signature of her email -- Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.
So yeah, look at things in a good way, and poof! they're good. Try it, it works.
Now I'm going back to my regularly scheduled life... which basically means playing on facebook a bit more, reading some Tanach, reading some Stephen King, and going to bed.
I wish you all a beautiful day... a beautiful night... a beautiful week... etc. You should all be blessed with health and happiness, and visiting Israel soon (anyone wanna bring me running shoes? ;))
G'night :)
posted by M at 08:12
1 comments
