Happy 6th Night of Chanukah! I hope everyone is enjoying the parties and getting lots of great gifts. There might be a student strike at Bar Ilan right now, so I don't have class today until 2:00 p.m., which gives me plenty of time to update my blog.
On Monday, I met with Yehuda and he literally kicked me into gear. I was so sore in class yesterday that it hurt to bend down to slide into the seat. My thigh muscles are really sore from the squats he made me do. Thankfully, he stretched me out afterwards, so at least my calve and hamstring muscles aren't too bad.
Yesterday was a great class! Well, the first part of the class was really good, although the workshopping was a little rough. At that point, I had an awful headache and had given my three remaining Advil to the Professor, so I was without any ibuprofin. That being said, I was really looking forward to the ride to Jerusalem. That morning, I had asked Tamara to ask Bret if I could bum a ride to the Holy City. Fortunately, I got to him first and was able to secure a seat in his car, which became full pretty quickly as a few other members of the class wanted rides back home.
At the conclusion of class, I did what I used to do in the days before I had a drivers license. I called shotgun to get the seat up front. Brown nosing, I'm not, I just like to sit in the front seat! It's the best view, and besides, you usually get to control two things: radio and conversation. The radio went down low pretty early on in the car ride and, instead of controlling the conversation, I ended up dominating it. I'm not sure how it happened, but I ended up telling tales from my days as a working gal in sports/entertainment PR. In the middle of some of the stories, Bret mentioned that I had a novel worth of material, and now I'm rethinking my strategy for this year. I had been concentrating on writing that dream novel - you know the one - the book that I want to write that will win me tons of awards and maybe even the Pulitzer (don't laugh, at least I have goals and aspirations, what are YOUR dreams???). But this one could be really marketable and might be a good way for me to get a foot through the door. Hmmm, I've been thinking a lot about it and will go back to Bret to ask him for some advice.
Anyway, I got to Jerusalem last night and went to another Chanukah party. Before the party though, I found out that a couple of people I had been expecting to show up weren't going to be there because they had to go to a levayah (funeral). When I asked what happened, I was told that this time, she succeeded and chills literally ran through me. I really don't understand suicide, I can't even imagine what must go through someone's mind to make them want to take their own lives. I've actually been thinking a lot about this, especially since there is this documentary film called The Bridge I really want to see. It's about 24 suicides that took place off of The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and while there are no interviews with the jumpers, you do apparently see each and every one before they plunged to their deaths. The film was screened at The Tribeca Film Festival this past year and I had wanted to go see it, but on the night I had wanted to go, I ended up taking Ken Burns to a private screening so I missed the showing. I'm hoping to see it here in Israel, but if for some reason I can't make it, I'm hoping to pick up the DVD when I'm back in the States in a few weeks. Also, complete side not, but I highly recommend The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. If you haven't seen the movie, pick up the book, it's really thought provoking and well written. It's worth a read for the opening and closing paragraphs alone.
This morning, Itai called and woke me up around 8:00 a.m. to let me know that the workers were coming to fix the leak in the apartment below. Oh yeah, I had meant to blog about this on Monday, but was too exhausted to put anything down. Basically, I get back from the gym and you know I stink and am in need of a long, hot shower. Itai calls and he's frantic. Apparently, the downstairs neighbors noticed a "big water leak" on the ceiling and he asked me not to take a shower until the contractor could come to assess the situation. I laughed cause there was no way I couldn't take a shower, especially given the state I was in. But, since Itai is doing me a really, really big favor this weekend and letting my friend from Jerusalem park over Shabbat in his parking space, I felt that I really should try to accommodate him.
Ever wash your hair in the sink and take a sponge bath using a bucket? Me neither, until Monday night. It was quite an experience, especially since the sun had set and I was freezing! It was pretty difficult to manuever in such a tight space but I somehow managed it. And, while I was in the middle of blow drying my hair and trying to turn my purple fingers back to the normal color, my phone rang and Itai was giving me the green light to use the shower. The contractor told him he didn't think it was such a big deal and I could use the shower. It was a good thing too, cause I don't think the sponge bath was that effective!
Never a dull moment in this Holylandhipster's life folks!
I'm off to figure out the bus schedule for this afternoon's class. Book of the day (a new feature on this blog!!) is Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. A must read for anyone who likes WWII novels!
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