Yes, I am going to New York City for college in about a month, and as such I must get technologically equipped for the challenges of college life. I've spent the last two weeks researching laptops of all different flavors, backgrounds, religions, ethnicity, madraigas, and of course, budgets. And there's one thing I found they all share- they all have their issues. There is no such thing as the perfect laptop. If you want speed, you'll have to sacrifice battery life. If you want battery life, you'll have to sacrifice portability. If you want portability, you'll have to sacrifice speed, etc.
Not to mention the fact that they all run Windows Vista, the bane of cyberspace's existance as far as anyone well informed on the subject is concerned, and the free upgrade to Windows 7 is not only fairly far off, but not exactly promising either. And if you do find a laptop with good memory and processing power, long battery life, and compact form, be prepared to pay through the nose for it in blood (this I have done before, but it had very little to do with money).
So where does one turn when looking for a portable yet powerful laptop without spending a well sized chunk of the life savings they'll be living off of the next four years?
Not Apple, that's for sure.
Even if their laptops are all their cracked up to be, the prices are absolutly outrageous. The specs of a $1500 MacBook Air are less than half that of a $500 PC laptop. The difference? Is the MacBook Air built out of a gold-titanium alloy that can be thrust into space and still be able to check email? Not quite, but it does have a much more sturdy construction and it's operating system is probably more stable. But how much is that worth, really? As long as I don't act like a klutz around my laptop, why do I need an exta inch shaved off my laptop's thickness? Really how much room does that save you?
The answer is , that's not the point. It just looks really cool, and having the world's thinnest laptop is something to boast about.
I wonder if anyone actually falls for that. If anyone actually pays an extra 600 or 800 dollars to have their laptop look nicer.
Anyway, I decided on the MacBook Pro not because of its looks, but because I've finally come to admit that PCs suck. Tremendously. I have suffered greatly at the hands of crashed video editors after an hour of unsaved work, and my odds of doing a good deal of video editing next year are greatly increasing. Plus, the MacBook Pro, unlike the Air, has construction that is sturdier than pretty much any other laptop on the market, and has processing power that is worthy of its price tag. Throw in a light up keyboard, 7 hour battery life, and a FREE Ipod Touch, not to mention a student discount on the whole package, and the ability to boot up in windows if I get tired of Leapord OS X, and I'm sold.
I just hope it lives up to its promises.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The Monday News!
Hot off the presses!
Front Page News:
Classifieds (and Sports):
Business:
And, Editorials:
Front Page News:
Classifieds (and Sports):
Business:
And, Editorials:
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Ditching Shmoozes
This past shabbos was about as eventful as shabbos gets at wits. Well, maybe that's not true. I'll have to think about that one for awhile. But there were definitely events that transpired yesterday. Let's see how good a job I do recapping them. I made an early kiddush with the Sholach Manos grape juice, which I don't think even made a difference, since I finished eating about the same time as everyone else anyways. It's all in the head, I guess. I proceeded to actually learn at morning seder, since my chavrusa was away at his brother's ufruf (or however you spell that) and someone else's chavrusa was also gone. We learned better than I think I've learned at night seder all year, and I like to see if I can make the change permanent. The revealing thing about this little experience was that I actually found out that I can learn if paired with the right person. Whether or not this puts Bais Medrash back on the map for me next year is still an item of discussion, but I feel closer than I did two days ago (also to be discussed- whether that's a good thing.)
I also went for a walk with some friends, since it was the first good day outside in weeks. It's always good to get out of that building. Some weeks I barely get out at all, since the only real place to go is CVS, where everything is overpriced and/or useless.
After Shalosh Seudos, while I didn't make a point of ditching the shmooz (the optional-unless-you-don't-want-to-go style mussar speech before maariv), I ended up ditching it, since I missed the first 20 minutes of it in the bathroom, and didn't want to come in that late. So I sat up by the dorms reading the paper, waiting for it to be over. One of the rabbeim (the 9th grade rebbi, usually in charge of getting people to go) came up at some point to find people who were ditching, and found me, planted on a chair reading the paper quite comfortably by the main staircase. At first I figured he was going to come over, and ask me why I didn't go and stuff, but instead he just looked at me for a second, shook his head, and walked on into the dorm rooms. About ten seconds later, I got up and left.
After Maariv, while everyone was being forced to clean off all the tables in the Bais Medrash (a bris was going to be there the next morning) this rabbi tried to get a hold of me, and said quietly (pointless, in a room with that much noise), "I think we need to talk."
I didn't even have time to respond, because a second later another rebbi asked me why I was standing around and not clearing tables, and the next second a guy came over to me with my gemorah, and told me to put it away. I figured I lost the rebbe in the confusion (it was crowded in there) and headed down the back stairway to the lockers. As I got to the bottom of the stairway and was about to head to the lockers, that rebbe yelled my name from the top of the staircase. I braced myself for the mussar shmooz I'd missed about a half hour earlier, but he started differently than I expected. He told me he hoped I didn't look at him as a bad guy, and was trying to tell me that he's on my side and stuff. Things I took for granted, although most people in my class really don't. I've never had anything personal against the rabbeim, and most of the time, I haven't about anything they do either. He told me he remembered me in 9th grade as a student of promise and that I never gave him any reason to think I would be headed for trouble, but since I'm in 12th grade now, he really has nothing to do with me anymore (this particular rebbi doesn't teach the 12th grade anything) and he said he was worried that I may be slipping off, what with me ditching shmoozes and everything. Admittedly, this was not the first time he had caught me ditching the shmooz within recent memory, and last time things were a little more intense (he wanted to know where I was when he came through getting people, and I was hesitant to admit that I had hid under a table). He told me he was worried that maybe this went deeper than just ditching shmoozes, and wanted to know how I was doing. He asked if I was learning in shiur. Yes, I'm learning in shiur, I told him, thinking about the words as I said them. At least, now I was. Last quarter, not so much. He seemed genuinenly concerned about how I've been doing frum-wise (have I been davening, learning, etc.) something I haven't heard for a long time, or ever, because no one's ever had any cause to worry about that kind of stuff with me. Suddenly I had a flash from last year, when I was paired up with some of the worst kids in my class. I remembered Kovi reminding me to make sure that they didn't have a bad influence on me. At the time, I laughed on the inside, so sure of myself. Instead, I thought about the hard task of turning them around. Now that I thought about it, I had to consider the possibility that that was a warning that should have been heeded a little more carefully. This year again I have been paired up with some people who are not exactly known for their frumkeit. I've even come to suspect that the administration has been doing this so I would be a good influence on these people. But now I have to wonder if I have become what I was supposed to be a good influence on over a year ago. Rabbeim have always looked at me as one of the top in the class, as someone who would never skip a mincha, or sleep in the middle of shiur, even though that's what two out of three of my roommates do. And yet these are things that I find myself doing these days. My one other roommate, the last of the three from the beginning of last year, is the only one in my room now who consistantly goes to every tfilla on time, and tries to force us to do the same. Now it seems I'm the one who needs to be influenced. Seems like I've failed the mission that was never even officially given to me.
This was all going through my head while this rabbi spoke to me in the back stairwell of the bais medrash. It also lead me to think about where things are going to go in the future. I thought about what my already-in-motion plans for next year entailed. College, part time learning in the morning. New York. Working on commercials for a friend of my father's as a video editor. Where did this all fall in the grand scheme of things? Was I going to wind up sending back reports next year about the new girl I'm dating and what party I got smashed at this week? Am I going to become everything these rabbeim have spent the last four years trying to steer me away from? If I'm going to shape up, now is the time to do it, I thought to myself.
The rabbi was still talking. I had lost track of what exactly he was saying now, but the general line was that it wasn't worth risking my frumkeit by turning rabbeim into people who need to hunt me down, and turning shmoozes into things that were to be avoided at all costs. Because doing these things start you down a road you don't want to go on. I listened to him until the ended, and nodded where I was supposed to, already having made up my mind. This rabbi may not have convinced me of anything himself, but he got me to convince myself of what I need to do. "It won't be a problem again" I assured him when he seemed finished. He looked at me skeptically, as if he'd heard that one a million times, which he probably has. He let me go then, adding to finish that he never saw me to be the kind of person to have these problems, or have any reason to doubt me. Words of encouragment that I guess I needed. I remembered to thank him for talking to me on his way out the door, for which he said a rushed "you're welcome" as he headed out. He probably knows exactly how much this ten minute talk accomplished, although he doesn't really show it.
Where is this going to lead? I really don't know, to be honest. I still don't think I want to spend a full year in a bais medrash, or in Israel whooping it up with "kosher yet banned" concerts, girlfriends, and drinks. And while it seems there is now reason to be concerned with the influences I will surely find in YU, I still think I can pull it off still davening with a minyan three times a day when I graduate. Although I'm sure I thought that at the beginning of last year also. Am I going to "ditch the shmooze" next year also, or am I going to take the seat I had a year and a half ago?
Today I wore my tzitzis out. And to be honest, I don't even know why.
I also went for a walk with some friends, since it was the first good day outside in weeks. It's always good to get out of that building. Some weeks I barely get out at all, since the only real place to go is CVS, where everything is overpriced and/or useless.
After Shalosh Seudos, while I didn't make a point of ditching the shmooz (the optional-unless-you-don't-want-to-go style mussar speech before maariv), I ended up ditching it, since I missed the first 20 minutes of it in the bathroom, and didn't want to come in that late. So I sat up by the dorms reading the paper, waiting for it to be over. One of the rabbeim (the 9th grade rebbi, usually in charge of getting people to go) came up at some point to find people who were ditching, and found me, planted on a chair reading the paper quite comfortably by the main staircase. At first I figured he was going to come over, and ask me why I didn't go and stuff, but instead he just looked at me for a second, shook his head, and walked on into the dorm rooms. About ten seconds later, I got up and left.
After Maariv, while everyone was being forced to clean off all the tables in the Bais Medrash (a bris was going to be there the next morning) this rabbi tried to get a hold of me, and said quietly (pointless, in a room with that much noise), "I think we need to talk."
I didn't even have time to respond, because a second later another rebbi asked me why I was standing around and not clearing tables, and the next second a guy came over to me with my gemorah, and told me to put it away. I figured I lost the rebbe in the confusion (it was crowded in there) and headed down the back stairway to the lockers. As I got to the bottom of the stairway and was about to head to the lockers, that rebbe yelled my name from the top of the staircase. I braced myself for the mussar shmooz I'd missed about a half hour earlier, but he started differently than I expected. He told me he hoped I didn't look at him as a bad guy, and was trying to tell me that he's on my side and stuff. Things I took for granted, although most people in my class really don't. I've never had anything personal against the rabbeim, and most of the time, I haven't about anything they do either. He told me he remembered me in 9th grade as a student of promise and that I never gave him any reason to think I would be headed for trouble, but since I'm in 12th grade now, he really has nothing to do with me anymore (this particular rebbi doesn't teach the 12th grade anything) and he said he was worried that I may be slipping off, what with me ditching shmoozes and everything. Admittedly, this was not the first time he had caught me ditching the shmooz within recent memory, and last time things were a little more intense (he wanted to know where I was when he came through getting people, and I was hesitant to admit that I had hid under a table). He told me he was worried that maybe this went deeper than just ditching shmoozes, and wanted to know how I was doing. He asked if I was learning in shiur. Yes, I'm learning in shiur, I told him, thinking about the words as I said them. At least, now I was. Last quarter, not so much. He seemed genuinenly concerned about how I've been doing frum-wise (have I been davening, learning, etc.) something I haven't heard for a long time, or ever, because no one's ever had any cause to worry about that kind of stuff with me. Suddenly I had a flash from last year, when I was paired up with some of the worst kids in my class. I remembered Kovi reminding me to make sure that they didn't have a bad influence on me. At the time, I laughed on the inside, so sure of myself. Instead, I thought about the hard task of turning them around. Now that I thought about it, I had to consider the possibility that that was a warning that should have been heeded a little more carefully. This year again I have been paired up with some people who are not exactly known for their frumkeit. I've even come to suspect that the administration has been doing this so I would be a good influence on these people. But now I have to wonder if I have become what I was supposed to be a good influence on over a year ago. Rabbeim have always looked at me as one of the top in the class, as someone who would never skip a mincha, or sleep in the middle of shiur, even though that's what two out of three of my roommates do. And yet these are things that I find myself doing these days. My one other roommate, the last of the three from the beginning of last year, is the only one in my room now who consistantly goes to every tfilla on time, and tries to force us to do the same. Now it seems I'm the one who needs to be influenced. Seems like I've failed the mission that was never even officially given to me.
This was all going through my head while this rabbi spoke to me in the back stairwell of the bais medrash. It also lead me to think about where things are going to go in the future. I thought about what my already-in-motion plans for next year entailed. College, part time learning in the morning. New York. Working on commercials for a friend of my father's as a video editor. Where did this all fall in the grand scheme of things? Was I going to wind up sending back reports next year about the new girl I'm dating and what party I got smashed at this week? Am I going to become everything these rabbeim have spent the last four years trying to steer me away from? If I'm going to shape up, now is the time to do it, I thought to myself.
The rabbi was still talking. I had lost track of what exactly he was saying now, but the general line was that it wasn't worth risking my frumkeit by turning rabbeim into people who need to hunt me down, and turning shmoozes into things that were to be avoided at all costs. Because doing these things start you down a road you don't want to go on. I listened to him until the ended, and nodded where I was supposed to, already having made up my mind. This rabbi may not have convinced me of anything himself, but he got me to convince myself of what I need to do. "It won't be a problem again" I assured him when he seemed finished. He looked at me skeptically, as if he'd heard that one a million times, which he probably has. He let me go then, adding to finish that he never saw me to be the kind of person to have these problems, or have any reason to doubt me. Words of encouragment that I guess I needed. I remembered to thank him for talking to me on his way out the door, for which he said a rushed "you're welcome" as he headed out. He probably knows exactly how much this ten minute talk accomplished, although he doesn't really show it.
Where is this going to lead? I really don't know, to be honest. I still don't think I want to spend a full year in a bais medrash, or in Israel whooping it up with "kosher yet banned" concerts, girlfriends, and drinks. And while it seems there is now reason to be concerned with the influences I will surely find in YU, I still think I can pull it off still davening with a minyan three times a day when I graduate. Although I'm sure I thought that at the beginning of last year also. Am I going to "ditch the shmooze" next year also, or am I going to take the seat I had a year and a half ago?
Today I wore my tzitzis out. And to be honest, I don't even know why.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Thursday, February 05, 2009
"...Clear!"
Well, everyone who thought this blog is dead is about to be extremely disappointed. Because we have funny stories, deep philosophical prose, and enough video parodies to keep you watching for days.
Who am I kidding. I got nothing. There is nothing here for you to read. Nothing. Well okay, there is something, but not much that I can write on the internet. Like Fudge wrote recently, there's not a whole lot I can write without needing to create a whole seperate alias, thanks to google and its ilk, which I don't feel like doing namely because it involves me doing work.
Work. Hmm. There's a funny word I haven't been thinking about at all lately. Actually, here's an interesting piece of information. I recently saw some strange, yet hilarious videos on YouTube (discovered by Iguana) made with a computer game called Gary's mod. In less than a week's time span, with only about 8 minutes of the videos under my belt, it seems to have infiltrated every level of my daily life like only the PT and Homestarrunner could. I might just walk into a room and say something like "It's a great day to do what has to be done by me" and no one will know what the heck I'm talking about. Or I might put up as my facebook status "Rafi is back home safe and soon and left behind the bad place behind him" and I will get comments like "...huh?" Thats the annoying thing about Youtube I guess. No matter what it is, no one else has seen it but you.
Anyways, I got home tonight for the out shabbos and decided to look up whoever made these videos, since they sounded like they had been dictated from a PT-style volume of absurdity, complete with ridiculous spellings and extremely random subject matter. I figured it was some guy who found his 5 year old son's fan fiction hilarious and made a video out of it from this game. But when I looked into the guy who made it, it turned out to be a 17 year old guy from toronto, who has made tons of these videos and has no doubt made it his life. At first I felt sad for this guy, who must be some poor nerd nobody associates with if this is what he does with all of his free time, but I followed a link to his myspace page, and found that not only does he have thousands of friends, but that he gets hundreds of requests every ten minutes! I found that hard to believe at first, but when I saw that each of his videos on youtube had over 2 million views, I saw how that could be possible. It's crazy how people get popular these days.
What else do we have to talk about? The school year is going okay I guess. When I really think about it, this year is the most laid back school year I've ever had, bar none. Or at least it would be if I wasn't going nuts over what college/yeshiva I should or should be going to next year. Which isn't really true, since I haven't actually done too much toward that. I just worry about it. I don't actually work towards finding a place to go. Worrying is so much easier, and it beats not-worrying, which makes me feel irresponsible.
Well I guess thats not true either. I have applied/visited YU, and it seems that that's the most likely the place I'm going to wind up in next year. If one can "wind up" in a school that costs $40,000 a year.
I'm also going to Miami in 2 weeks to check out the Yeshiva there. Should be interesting. Looks like this boat could float either way right now, although I seem to have a well-paying internship as a video editor waiting for me in New York already, which will definitely influence my final decision. Makes me wonder if that's where my talent really is.
My rabbeim can't understand why I would want to go to college so early since I'm so good at learning. I feel like they may have gotten the wrong impression of me over the last three years. Who am I kidding, the only impression my rebbe this year has of me is the glance at my report cards he saw at the beginning of the year. "A's in gemara, your obviously a masmid! How could you not go to bais medrash?"
Today we had an oral test in gemara, which is done in groups of three at a time, and I was lumped together with the two top students in the entire class. These are kids who are not only going to be staying for at least three years of bais medrash no questions asked, but are probably not going to stop, go on to get smicha, and become rabbeim in either this school or another one. Not the same destination as me by a long shot.
Why was I paired up with them? I certainly didn't know the Gemarah as well as they did, as was demonstrated by my inexcusable ignorance on the oral exam. Nearly every question I was asked was passed on to one of the other two guys, each one eager to give the "obvious" answer. Several times I saw one shake his head and chuckle slightly while I groped for a different way to say "I don't know".
My rebbe pulled me aside after the 45 minute test, as I knew he would, and asked me what happened. "I thought you knew this material." Did I? I thought I did. I haven't really focused since winter break, even though I said I would. Did you honestly think I would know this gemara as well as they would? Why was I first in line, while the guy who is most likely the third best student in the shuir was bumped up another hour and a half? Was it completely random? Not likely. Nothing he does is random, as much as he'd like us to believe it is.
"I thought you knew this material" Where is the line drawn between "knows the material" and "enjoys learning it?" The last time I met with him, he asked me to come back to him in a week with a response as to why I should go to college instead of learning for a few years first, and while I'm at it why don't I go to israel, after all college isn't going anywhere.
I never got back to him. And I never plan to, mostly because I still don't know what to say. One thing I can say about me and my siblings: we do stand out. Maybe in a good way, maybe a bad way, depending on whose looking I suppose. And I don't think I am one of those other two people I took the test with, regardless of what my rebbe might think. I'm not one of those shtark bochers who learns mussar in his free time, and actually spends hachana learning. But at the same time, I'm not one of the people who have obviously bummed out and couldn't care less about davening or religion. That puts me right in the middle.
Is that what YU is?
I
Monday, December 01, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Succos Break Production Update!
I woke up at 5:30 this morning. That is roughly an hour and a half earlier than I would ever wake up on a school day. Why, you may ask?
Because I'm gonna be rich!
Ok, not rich. I'm going to be 100 bucks richer. Probably not worth it. Somehow, my summer job of being a mashgiach (mashiach, if you will) of an old age home has extended into not only my summer break, but ALL of my breaks. Which is both a gift, and a curse. But today so far, has not been fun, and it's only 7:24 in the morning.
I got up, got dressed, ate a bowl of cocoa rice crispies, and then came to a startling realization: I didn't know where my ID badge was. The one thing that identifies me as the Messiah, and I had somehow misplaced it. No I hadn't misplaced it. I put it on the dining room table two days earlier! It had been cleared yesterday by fudge for a birthday party for someone I don't know! Now I was faced with a choice. I could wake fudge up and interrogate her as to where she put the badge, I could leave now and get to work on time, without the ID badge, or I could look for it myself, and the ovens at the home would have to wait fifteen or twenty minutes before I came, my majestic cape billowing in the wind, to turn them on. I decided to leave without it. I'm only working until 9 today, so I think they can forgive me not wearing it for 2 and a half hours. But if it's not found by the time I get home...
Anyways, I got into the car, freezing and shivering, honked the horn a couple times by accident trying to get the dang club off the wheel, and started pulling out. A few seconds later I realized I did not have my esrog and lulav with me. Sure I could still go inside and get it, but that would mean I would be extra late to work, AND I wouldn't have my ID badge, and so I left without it. So far, the morning has been almost a total faliure.
As I drove down the dark cold road in sheer terror without any rear view mirror (the back window did not defrost the entire drive there) I realized the only way this morning could get worse would be I crashed into someone, or they crashed into me (at this point I realized I didn't have my cell phone either). But I did get here with no problems, and now all the ovens and serverees are on and purring happily.
And they call it succos break. If I could live at home the rest of the school year, I might call is school break.
Because I'm gonna be rich!
Ok, not rich. I'm going to be 100 bucks richer. Probably not worth it. Somehow, my summer job of being a mashgiach (mashiach, if you will) of an old age home has extended into not only my summer break, but ALL of my breaks. Which is both a gift, and a curse. But today so far, has not been fun, and it's only 7:24 in the morning.
I got up, got dressed, ate a bowl of cocoa rice crispies, and then came to a startling realization: I didn't know where my ID badge was. The one thing that identifies me as the Messiah, and I had somehow misplaced it. No I hadn't misplaced it. I put it on the dining room table two days earlier! It had been cleared yesterday by fudge for a birthday party for someone I don't know! Now I was faced with a choice. I could wake fudge up and interrogate her as to where she put the badge, I could leave now and get to work on time, without the ID badge, or I could look for it myself, and the ovens at the home would have to wait fifteen or twenty minutes before I came, my majestic cape billowing in the wind, to turn them on. I decided to leave without it. I'm only working until 9 today, so I think they can forgive me not wearing it for 2 and a half hours. But if it's not found by the time I get home...
Anyways, I got into the car, freezing and shivering, honked the horn a couple times by accident trying to get the dang club off the wheel, and started pulling out. A few seconds later I realized I did not have my esrog and lulav with me. Sure I could still go inside and get it, but that would mean I would be extra late to work, AND I wouldn't have my ID badge, and so I left without it. So far, the morning has been almost a total faliure.
As I drove down the dark cold road in sheer terror without any rear view mirror (the back window did not defrost the entire drive there) I realized the only way this morning could get worse would be I crashed into someone, or they crashed into me (at this point I realized I didn't have my cell phone either). But I did get here with no problems, and now all the ovens and serverees are on and purring happily.
And they call it succos break. If I could live at home the rest of the school year, I might call is school break.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
I went on the superman ride!!!
Oh yeah.
This post is a little late in coming, since all of this happened more than a week ago, but it is still very fresh in my mind, and I hadn't really thought to blog about it until now.
We went to six flags with my Israeli cousins last week. I don't know if they'd ever been to an amusement park before, but I was sure they had never seen anything like this in Israel. Of course, as we drove up, we saw all the rides that go tall enough to be seen several miles out. And I had the usual thoughts of "there is not enough money in the world to get me on one of those, and especially not if I'm paying them."
Ha Ha.
Well, I've been thinking that ever since I saw the batman ride they have at six flags merely because it went upside down. I've sworn since never to go on the batman ride, and so far I've kept to that pretty faithfully.
I of course had no plans to go on the Superman ride when I came, and we even passed it several times before I ended up going in. We passed it the first time, and my mom, who loves the superman movies, declared "yeah you're not getting me on that thing." I agreed. My past roller coaster experiences were limited to the Wizzer, which was one of the few rides in the park that describe themselves as "family rides". The superman ride had a seat out front that said "Test Seat". I guessed it was a precaution that said something like "this is to make sure you won't fall out of the seat in the middle of our ride, because if you do, it will not be pretty." It also seemed to say "If you fit in this seat, you will be perfectly safe!! Really!!!"
I wondered if there was any paperwork to do while you waited in the 800 capacity line.
After a couple hours at the park, we split into smaller groups, and I wound up with one of my adult second cousins from Israel (who is in the military). He told me he was going on the Superman ride and I should go with him "because it would be fun". I had two thoughts about this: Never ever ever; and "what if it is fun, and I never know it?" I looked up at the screaming people. They looked like they were having fun. I guess. And of course, if I didn't go I would look like a chicken. So I reasoned that I would wait in line, but not actually go on the ride when the time came. Besides, it would probably be too long a wait anyways, right?
It turned out, since it had just been raining, the line was only about %20 full, and the ride seated like 24 people at a time. So I had about a half an hour to get my wits together and go on the ride.
I might have gone crazy watching those people go overhead every 25 seconds had it not been for all the clever distractions they had for you to look at while you were in line. Like giant posters of all the superman villians in world history and their eye colors and life stories.
When we were about five minutes away, my cousin split into another line. This line was only for people going in the front row. It could have said, "crazy people only" and the waiting estimation was four times the other lines. I tactfully decided not to go into this line, but I wasn't about to go on the ride before my cousin did. So I waited. Not exactly on purpose, but whenever the ride came back I would say "Uhh....do you want to go next?" and the people behind me would say "Umm...no you can go." And then I would just walk away, and they would go on.
Right before I got on the ride, I realized that this ride was not any ride. When you sat down, the seat
flipped over so that you were looking at the ground. I was going to go several stories high looking at the ground the whole time. This did not sound fun. I resolved to keep my eyes closed until the ride started going downhill.
Finally I got in, and lucky for me the only seat left was the one on the end. So I sat down next to some guy probably my age with long blonde hair, who was laughing nervously with his friends. I wondered whether or not if my cousin was sitting right next to me I would be saying something along the lines of "I am going to kill you."
So the right flipped over like I knew it would, and it was about then that I closed Omy eyes. I felt wind, and I felt us going up. The guy next to me was saying "Oh this is crazy" I kept my eyes shut. And we kept going higher and higher. I listened for signs of the ride tilting downward so I wouldn't be too surprised when it happened. I got it when the guy next to me said "I don't know who talked me into this OOOOOOONNNNEEEEE!!!!!!!!"
I opened my eyes for a second, then decided it might be a better idea to keep them closed.
I would occasionally open them for a couple seconds. Now, ironically, I wish I had kept them open the whole time, because those moments when my eyes were open were the best parts of my day at six flags. My cousin later said that it was even more amazing in the front row, since there was nothing in front of him and it actually felt like he was flying.
It was an amazing ride, the most amazing ride I've ever been on. When it finished (the ride was only about 45 seconds long) I had two thoughts "thank god that's over", and "I have to go on that again". You see, after a little while in the "stomach position" you get used to it and I think you can enjoy the ride a little more after that. I told my cousin when we got down that I wanted another go, but when he actually agreed to that and started going back in line, I realized maybe I didn't want to go through that again. So I told him I didn't want to wait another half hour for the same ride, and we left.
But when I left, I felt different. I had the feeling like "the first thing I'm doing when I come back is going on that ride". I think when you go on one of those big rides, it becomes less daunting and easier to go the next time.
So, keep an eye out for me up there!
Monday, August 04, 2008
The Nine Days...
Working in an old age home kitchen, one would not think that I would be disappointed about not being able to eat any of their all-meat meals for the next week. But the truth is, the meals at this place are not so bad. In some cases, they're actually amazing. Of course, the only meal I've found to fit the description of "amazing" here would be the beef brisket, which I only had once. But what were the chances of them having that again within these specific days when we can't eat meat?
Well, apparently good enough, because when I checked in today (monday) and looked at the schedule, the first thing I saw was
"BEEF BRISKET"
"Is this a joke?" I thought to myself. How can God expect me to resist the old home's beef brisket? That's like some of the best stuff you can get in milwaukee (without cooking it yourself). Especially when I have to serve it to 5 different floors? And I'm not even so sure why we're not allowed to eat meat during the 9 days.
We better be having something good for supper at home...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
How did it come to this?
I saw this sign in the elevator where I work today...
"MONDAY- JULY 28th
BLACK AND BLUE JEANS DAY
Wear black and blue jeans...just for fun!!!!"
Is this what we have to do these days?...
"MONDAY- JULY 28th
BLACK AND BLUE JEANS DAY
Wear black and blue jeans...just for fun!!!!"
Is this what we have to do these days?...
Monday, July 21, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Deep thought in the kitchen
Worker 1: Hey, what's the good word?
Worker 2: Oh...Friday's the good word.
Worker 1: Friday? Why is Friday the good word?
Worker 2: Because Friday is payday.
Worker 1: So shouldn't payday be the good word?
Worker 2: Yeah, I guess...payday is the good word.
Worker 1: Why's payday the good word?
Worker 2: Because we get money on payday.
Worker 1: So shouldn't money be the good word?
Worker 2: Okay money is the good word?
Worker 1: Why's money the good word....
I could go on but do I have to? This while spending an hour and a half straight checking lettuce.
No, seriously, I love my summer job as a mashgiach (or as my id badge says "Mashiagh"). I kind of have a thing for cooking and baking, and part of the job is helping the kitchen staff with preparing and serving the meals. So I learn a thing or two on the job, and alot of the workers are nice people. And I get my own office. So things turn out pretty well. The only problem right now is getting there. Of my last two adventures with the transit system, I have been twenty minutes late getting home, and today getting to work. The alternative, which would be to drive (and which I do most of the time) is much more expensive, because I'm not the only one who uses the car, and filling up more than once a week is a killer.
Worker 2: Oh...Friday's the good word.
Worker 1: Friday? Why is Friday the good word?
Worker 2: Because Friday is payday.
Worker 1: So shouldn't payday be the good word?
Worker 2: Yeah, I guess...payday is the good word.
Worker 1: Why's payday the good word?
Worker 2: Because we get money on payday.
Worker 1: So shouldn't money be the good word?
Worker 2: Okay money is the good word?
Worker 1: Why's money the good word....
I could go on but do I have to? This while spending an hour and a half straight checking lettuce.
No, seriously, I love my summer job as a mashgiach (or as my id badge says "Mashiagh"). I kind of have a thing for cooking and baking, and part of the job is helping the kitchen staff with preparing and serving the meals. So I learn a thing or two on the job, and alot of the workers are nice people. And I get my own office. So things turn out pretty well. The only problem right now is getting there. Of my last two adventures with the transit system, I have been twenty minutes late getting home, and today getting to work. The alternative, which would be to drive (and which I do most of the time) is much more expensive, because I'm not the only one who uses the car, and filling up more than once a week is a killer.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Ho man!
What are we Going to Do without the Xbox? Seriously, I think we paid enough for this thing for it to not break within a year of buying it. By the time the summer is over, the people at microsoft will have finally gotten their feet off the table and started the process of walking-over-to-that-box-in-the-corner-and-finding-out-what-the-heck-is-in-it.
If anyone has any suggestions on a faster way to fix this than shipping it back to microsoft, please let me know.
(we don't have three lights. we have one in the bottom right corner)
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
The story so far...
You don't give much thought to some things until you have to. During the school year, I would never wonder for a second what I would be doing with all my free time over the summer vacation. But now that it's here, I spend most of the time having nothing better to do than play xbox or drive my sisters to and from their day camp. Which is kind of boring. Yes I have work, but I generally do not work for more than 4 hours a day (not my choice, that's the way the job works), and not even everyday. And I'm still making...lets see... five times what I made last year? If everything goes well, I will have enough money to live quite comfortably during my last year of high school. Which brings me to that. I have a reading I have to write an essay on for AP english over the summer, and I have to study for the SAT'a, because I have to beat my brothers apparently awesome score. And I have to somehow sell 50 raffle tickets for my senior class trip. So it's not like I have nothing to do, I guess. I just don't want to do any of that stuff. I'll just have to face the music eventually.
Some of you old timers may remember we were planning on making a Space- the movie for the summer of 2008.
As of right now I have no idea if this is going to happen or not. I asked them to write a screenplay for me, and I wasn't so impressed with what they came up with. So we'll just have to see what happens with this.
But I can tell you that if we do wind up doing it, it's going to have way more special effects than I've ever used before. Should be interesting. It'll give me something to do.
Some of you old timers may remember we were planning on making a Space- the movie for the summer of 2008.
As of right now I have no idea if this is going to happen or not. I asked them to write a screenplay for me, and I wasn't so impressed with what they came up with. So we'll just have to see what happens with this.
But I can tell you that if we do wind up doing it, it's going to have way more special effects than I've ever used before. Should be interesting. It'll give me something to do.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
The end is near
It's June. I've waited all year for it to be June. And now it's June.
You know my older sister can't even remember what it's like to have school in June? She gets out in MAY, while we haven't even started having nightmares about finals until early June. That kind of makes me wonder: doesn't college have a much more complicated curriculum, and yet while we both start at the same time, the college is beating my Yeshiva by a solid month? I do have a chemistry teacher who tells us that we only have two thirds of an ordinary school year since we have so many breaks, but I've never seen that to be realistic, seeing as how we have something like a fourteen hour day.
But anyways, with finals coming up, sometimes I start to wonder about my academic career. Not like what I'm going to major in. I asked my grandfather if he thought I should know by now what I want to major in. He said "No, it's far to early. What, you're going to be a junior next year, right?" To which I had to tell him that I'm actually going to be a senior next year. But I'm not talking about college. Just about how I'm doing now, in high school.
The whole year people in my class have told me how I seem to have it so easy, and I've never really taken it to heart. I do practically no homework at all, study for less than an hour for every test I take, excluding gemara, space out a significant amount of time in many of my classes, and I'm still making honors, albeit barely. What can I say? I'm not terribly motivated in most of these areas. I pay attention when I'm interested, but that unfortunatly is almost never.
I realize that this means if I tried, I could be close to the top of my class. It's true that I was offered to move up last year to the next Gemara class. I turned it down because it would have been much more work. Meaning I would have been challenged. That's supposed to be a good thing, but it wasn't the only factor. I usually don't seem to have the energy to try as hard as I see my classmates trying. At least I think that's the reason.
And of course, when it comes to finals, it's really the ultimate test of if I'm going to be able to get myself to study. There's usually so much material, that I know if I try I'll never get through it all anyway, but for finals I usually put in effort. At the end of the day, though, I always wonder how much good it did me.
Sometimes I think if I make things a little more exciting, I won't have the boredom issue weighing me down, and it might help me get back on track (not that I'm really off track) Like the other day, I biked to my house. It was true that I had multiple excuses to go there, but I think I just wanted to do something new. It worked a little.
Well, I have to go type an english essay...that I finished two days ago...maybe I'll look it over again. You never know what he's looking for in there.
You know my older sister can't even remember what it's like to have school in June? She gets out in MAY, while we haven't even started having nightmares about finals until early June. That kind of makes me wonder: doesn't college have a much more complicated curriculum, and yet while we both start at the same time, the college is beating my Yeshiva by a solid month? I do have a chemistry teacher who tells us that we only have two thirds of an ordinary school year since we have so many breaks, but I've never seen that to be realistic, seeing as how we have something like a fourteen hour day.
But anyways, with finals coming up, sometimes I start to wonder about my academic career. Not like what I'm going to major in. I asked my grandfather if he thought I should know by now what I want to major in. He said "No, it's far to early. What, you're going to be a junior next year, right?" To which I had to tell him that I'm actually going to be a senior next year. But I'm not talking about college. Just about how I'm doing now, in high school.
The whole year people in my class have told me how I seem to have it so easy, and I've never really taken it to heart. I do practically no homework at all, study for less than an hour for every test I take, excluding gemara, space out a significant amount of time in many of my classes, and I'm still making honors, albeit barely. What can I say? I'm not terribly motivated in most of these areas. I pay attention when I'm interested, but that unfortunatly is almost never.
I realize that this means if I tried, I could be close to the top of my class. It's true that I was offered to move up last year to the next Gemara class. I turned it down because it would have been much more work. Meaning I would have been challenged. That's supposed to be a good thing, but it wasn't the only factor. I usually don't seem to have the energy to try as hard as I see my classmates trying. At least I think that's the reason.
And of course, when it comes to finals, it's really the ultimate test of if I'm going to be able to get myself to study. There's usually so much material, that I know if I try I'll never get through it all anyway, but for finals I usually put in effort. At the end of the day, though, I always wonder how much good it did me.
Sometimes I think if I make things a little more exciting, I won't have the boredom issue weighing me down, and it might help me get back on track (not that I'm really off track) Like the other day, I biked to my house. It was true that I had multiple excuses to go there, but I think I just wanted to do something new. It worked a little.
Well, I have to go type an english essay...that I finished two days ago...maybe I'll look it over again. You never know what he's looking for in there.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Nuthing lik a barbiku
Last Sunday, my class had a barbecue/baseball game at a local park. The reason was because our newly appointed class president felt we don't have enough "achdus" (brother-ness [?]) in our class. Which is true. My class is split up into several different groups, most of which get along just fine, but don't have much to do with each other. But as our president illustrated with vivid examples (my *cough* room) we are clearly not at the level of the current seniors, which we will need to be if we are going to be seniors next year.
We noticed during our class meeting that we never have any 2 am barbecues like other classes do. Some of us didn't like the idea of eating meat at 2 in the morning, but some thought it was a good way to bring the class together. Both of which are true. We agreed that we needed to do something, so after brainstorming several ideas, we eventually agreed upon the sunday afternoon barbecue and baseball game.
I was not so fond of that idea because I usually go home on sunday and do laundry and see my sisters, but since it got postponed until after an out shabbos anyways due to rain, that didn't turn out to be so bad. To illustrate how the whole thing went down, I have chosen to write my own PT book,
Nuthing lik a barbiku
by rafikee
this buk belogs to
rafikee
In the afternoon, i go to the park
our gril dosnt lik to
not vere
my roommate sleps lat
i cary the gril to the park and its legs fal off
my frends get mad
ware my meat is!!!!
bak at skool, that is ware it is!
("What's on this page?")
This is me striking out at bat.
(What's that in the background?")
Those are the guys at the other field drinking beer upside down.
("They drink beer upside down?")
Yeah, they like to do that!
("Who's the guy in the tank top?")
That's my team's pitcher. He's getting a tan!
wut cind of pich is this?
Wuat!?
You didnt get a gud pcih. You shud hav walked.
Ar you going to leve? Ar you going to call a taksi and go hom?
no, I stil want to hav a barbiku.
(What's happening in this picture?)
Dreaming...do dodo do do do...
(What's he dreaming about?)
He's dreaming a ball is coming his way all the way out in right field.
oh, wait, a ball is coming his way in right field!
I COT THE BAL!
now i gess i wont leve.
Wi do I cep geting bad pichs?
Probably because you're eighth at bat.
Wuat! my stek is so smal!
mabe barbikus ar good,
F for "forgot condiments"
A for alon (in right field)
barbikus are more important
evry other day
the end!
We noticed during our class meeting that we never have any 2 am barbecues like other classes do. Some of us didn't like the idea of eating meat at 2 in the morning, but some thought it was a good way to bring the class together. Both of which are true. We agreed that we needed to do something, so after brainstorming several ideas, we eventually agreed upon the sunday afternoon barbecue and baseball game.
I was not so fond of that idea because I usually go home on sunday and do laundry and see my sisters, but since it got postponed until after an out shabbos anyways due to rain, that didn't turn out to be so bad. To illustrate how the whole thing went down, I have chosen to write my own PT book,
Nuthing lik a barbiku
by rafikee
this buk belogs to
rafikee
In the afternoon, i go to the park
our gril dosnt lik to
not vere
my roommate sleps lat
i cary the gril to the park and its legs fal off
my frends get mad
ware my meat is!!!!
bak at skool, that is ware it is!
("What's on this page?")
This is me striking out at bat.
(What's that in the background?")
Those are the guys at the other field drinking beer upside down.
("They drink beer upside down?")
Yeah, they like to do that!
("Who's the guy in the tank top?")
That's my team's pitcher. He's getting a tan!
wut cind of pich is this?
Wuat!?
You didnt get a gud pcih. You shud hav walked.
Ar you going to leve? Ar you going to call a taksi and go hom?
no, I stil want to hav a barbiku.
(What's happening in this picture?)
Dreaming...do dodo do do do...
(What's he dreaming about?)
He's dreaming a ball is coming his way all the way out in right field.
oh, wait, a ball is coming his way in right field!
I COT THE BAL!
now i gess i wont leve.
Wi do I cep geting bad pichs?
Probably because you're eighth at bat.
Wuat! my stek is so smal!
mabe barbikus ar good,
F for "forgot condiments"
A for alon (in right field)
barbikus are more important
evry other day
the end!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Crackdown
this video has been removed. Please contact me at rafiskier@gmail.com if you want to get a link.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
In Memorandum
Long time readers may know that I own two palm pilots, by some strange twist of fate. One was quite expensive, but old, and the other was new and "school safe"-meaning it had no graphical abilities. Palm Pilots have taught me one thing; I'm very gullible when it comes to these ads and pictures of shiney new expensive electronics. I could see something I could not in my wildest dreams think of a way I could use it, but if it looks cool enough I will buy it. Such was definetley the case with these two gadgets.
After I got the first one back (it was confiscated in freshman year and given back to me at the beginning of this year) I was not sure what I was going to do with 2 palm pilots. I failed to sell either one. The idea of making a raffle for them with 1 or $2 tickets came to mind, but I never bothered. There were some useful things I kept on them, but most of the time they were not used or just unnecessary. I actually tried to return the white one 2 weeks after I bought it, but the return policy for Office Depot is 14 days, and I was on day 16.
So anyways, both palm pilots were sitting in one of my friends rooms over the afternoon (he needed to use the charger), and sometime between 5 and 8PM on April 8th, 2008, both palm pilots and the charger were stolen.
I was pissed off, but not crazy. I didn't use them for much, but collectivly they were worth $300+ and it seemed like a waste of money to let them just be stolen. So I went from room to room, searching. I had some suspects, but they turned out either not to have it, or hid it really really well. It most likley was not a janitor, because they don't work during that time. The Rabbeim were sympathetic, but they didn't do much more than I expected them to.
This is a trend in my Yeshiva now. Over this past year, more stealing has happened than ever before, especially in the last two weeks. As the director of the student kitchen, I can say that thousands of dollars in meat have been stolen this year from the freezers. Someone had $800 stolen over Purim break. Just last week an Ipod was stolen. Something, clearly, must be done.
The movie is finished! Expect a link very soon!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Sorry about the total lack of stuff
Between schoolwork and creating a major motion picture, I haven't had much time for blogging. I meant to put some material from the movie on the blog, but there are many reasons why I may not make it available to everyone with an internet connection. For one thing I am not so sure the rabb eim would approve of it. At all. It's not a bad movie in any way, but it may paint them in a less than positive light. I can't say they could suspend me for it, or punish me at all, but still...it would probably be best for everyone if they never saw it.
I have part of it on YouTube, but it has basically no tags, and I'm worried about putting any on it. I plan to make a trailer pretty soon, and that's what's going to go on the blog. Expect it sometime between now and Pesach. That's kind of a long time period, but I don't have any time as it is.
I have part of it on YouTube, but it has basically no tags, and I'm worried about putting any on it. I plan to make a trailer pretty soon, and that's what's going to go on the blog. Expect it sometime between now and Pesach. That's kind of a long time period, but I don't have any time as it is.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Taking a much needed three day vacation
If you need me, don't. I almost died of exhaustion this last week. If I'm up to it, I'll make a post later.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
the slip
Looking at all my immediate family's blogs, I can see that no one has brought up what happened last sunday. Of course, this could be for several reasons, a few could apply to me as well. Therefore there is probably a good reason why I shouldn't write this, but as I and Iguana are the only eye witnesses to speak of, I feel that many people will be wondering exactly what happened.
The end of winter break was dangerously close. So close in fact that I wasn't really thinking about it. But my brother was, constantly reminding me by asking me if I knew what it felt like to know your freedom was about to end or whatever. I just said no. That was the last two years. This year I don't care about going back to school anymore. I'm on top of things now.
So anyways, the end of break means...lice checking!!! No, not for me, for all those elementary school goers that are related to me, such as the PT and Iguana. After two futile attempts made by my mom to get them into the high security compound that is our elementary school (the doors were locked) my mom asked me to drive them over while she made lunch. Yes, I now have a license and can drive without a fully licensed person with me, but this was to be the first time I would be actually doing that. That was a little scary to think about, what with all the snow being on the ground, but I figured I'd be okay. And I was. That was not the issue.
After daringly turning a slightly busy corner to get closer to the school, we all piled out of the car to get inside the school. There are two entrances; stairs that lead into the building, and a ramp. Me and Iguana went up the ramp, and the PT, what with the goofball she is , decided to go around, and ran around to the stairs. "Whatever" I thought "If it makes her happy".
So after lice checking, we started to head out. When we left the building, this time me and Iguana went down the steps, which was the most direct approach to the car, which was right across the street. The PT, of course, ran down the ramp.
This is where things get creepy when I think about it. She was running down the ramp, laughing away, and right when she started running down the slush covered ramp, she stumbled and caught herself. I should have realized right then, and I was actually processing a warning through my brain to tell her when, as she reached the bottom, she slipped backward, landed on her back, and slid down the rest of the ramp on the back of her coat.
She was crying the kind of cry I expected to hear if she had pinched herself or gotten scared (which is what I assumed had happened) so I helped her up with Iguana and we started to head for the car. I was saying things like "don't worry" "it's okay" ect. because at the worst, I figured she had scraped her hand. On our way to the car, an older jewish woman I do not know came over to us.
"Is she okay"
"Yeah she's fine." I said.
"Here I have some stuff for her" the woman said back, reaching into her purse and pulling out a small glass bottle with a gold liquid inside and a dropper.
"Here's some rescue remedey" she said. The PT, of course would never take candy from a stranger and gave a very negative screech.
"Okay, she doesn't want any remedy, what else can I do?" the woman said half chuckling as she walked away. To this day I have no idea what was in that bottle.
So we went back to the car. The PT was still crying as we drove home, which was not something I had expected. I made the usual jokes which usually make her forget about pain, but she did not seem interested.
We got into the house and showed the injury to my mom, who took it much harder than I had. She did the usual "does this hurt" routine with her and ended up putting an ace bandage around her wrist. We asked the PT what happened to her wrist, and she said she didn't remember. I, at this point, thought she might have sprained it breaking her fall on the ground. Iguana was saying something about stretching her muscles. I never quite knew how either was possible. I didn't see her hands or wrists involved at all.
Yet, my mom told me she was almost certain that is was broken, and the PT wouldn't really eat her mac and cheese and was still moaning, so we ended up taking her to the hospital, getting an xray, and discovering that in fact, she had broken her wrist in two places. She will have a cast on for four weeks. This is her right wrist. To me, that sounds like she can't write books, play video games, use computers, eat, and tons of other stuff for four weeks. And she's only six. This is what is haunting me right now. There were so many ways that didn't have to happen.
But I called her tonight and she sounded fine, in fact not really interested in talking to me (she was in the middle of watching "kronks new groove"). She got a white and red striped cat in the hat cast, and she sounded perfectly normal, so I'm feeling much better about the whole thing now. I considered making a get well card and having everyone at the school sign it, but my mom told me she wouldn't know the difference (which is probably true).
The end of winter break was dangerously close. So close in fact that I wasn't really thinking about it. But my brother was, constantly reminding me by asking me if I knew what it felt like to know your freedom was about to end or whatever. I just said no. That was the last two years. This year I don't care about going back to school anymore. I'm on top of things now.
So anyways, the end of break means...lice checking!!! No, not for me, for all those elementary school goers that are related to me, such as the PT and Iguana. After two futile attempts made by my mom to get them into the high security compound that is our elementary school (the doors were locked) my mom asked me to drive them over while she made lunch. Yes, I now have a license and can drive without a fully licensed person with me, but this was to be the first time I would be actually doing that. That was a little scary to think about, what with all the snow being on the ground, but I figured I'd be okay. And I was. That was not the issue.
After daringly turning a slightly busy corner to get closer to the school, we all piled out of the car to get inside the school. There are two entrances; stairs that lead into the building, and a ramp. Me and Iguana went up the ramp, and the PT, what with the goofball she is , decided to go around, and ran around to the stairs. "Whatever" I thought "If it makes her happy".
So after lice checking, we started to head out. When we left the building, this time me and Iguana went down the steps, which was the most direct approach to the car, which was right across the street. The PT, of course, ran down the ramp.
This is where things get creepy when I think about it. She was running down the ramp, laughing away, and right when she started running down the slush covered ramp, she stumbled and caught herself. I should have realized right then, and I was actually processing a warning through my brain to tell her when, as she reached the bottom, she slipped backward, landed on her back, and slid down the rest of the ramp on the back of her coat.
She was crying the kind of cry I expected to hear if she had pinched herself or gotten scared (which is what I assumed had happened) so I helped her up with Iguana and we started to head for the car. I was saying things like "don't worry" "it's okay" ect. because at the worst, I figured she had scraped her hand. On our way to the car, an older jewish woman I do not know came over to us.
"Is she okay"
"Yeah she's fine." I said.
"Here I have some stuff for her" the woman said back, reaching into her purse and pulling out a small glass bottle with a gold liquid inside and a dropper.
"Here's some rescue remedey" she said. The PT, of course would never take candy from a stranger and gave a very negative screech.
"Okay, she doesn't want any remedy, what else can I do?" the woman said half chuckling as she walked away. To this day I have no idea what was in that bottle.
So we went back to the car. The PT was still crying as we drove home, which was not something I had expected. I made the usual jokes which usually make her forget about pain, but she did not seem interested.
We got into the house and showed the injury to my mom, who took it much harder than I had. She did the usual "does this hurt" routine with her and ended up putting an ace bandage around her wrist. We asked the PT what happened to her wrist, and she said she didn't remember. I, at this point, thought she might have sprained it breaking her fall on the ground. Iguana was saying something about stretching her muscles. I never quite knew how either was possible. I didn't see her hands or wrists involved at all.
Yet, my mom told me she was almost certain that is was broken, and the PT wouldn't really eat her mac and cheese and was still moaning, so we ended up taking her to the hospital, getting an xray, and discovering that in fact, she had broken her wrist in two places. She will have a cast on for four weeks. This is her right wrist. To me, that sounds like she can't write books, play video games, use computers, eat, and tons of other stuff for four weeks. And she's only six. This is what is haunting me right now. There were so many ways that didn't have to happen.
But I called her tonight and she sounded fine, in fact not really interested in talking to me (she was in the middle of watching "kronks new groove"). She got a white and red striped cat in the hat cast, and she sounded perfectly normal, so I'm feeling much better about the whole thing now. I considered making a get well card and having everyone at the school sign it, but my mom told me she wouldn't know the difference (which is probably true).
Monday, January 21, 2008
Get Up
Ahh...the sheer bliss that is winter break. The truth is that for me, it's difficult for me to enjoy a vacation because I spend the whole time thinking about how much time I have left. It's like an automatic reflex
Me thinking: Cool it's winter break! Oh no! I only have Five days left and then I have a whole semester all over again!
So how does one enjoy the one week long vacation with no yom tovs one gets all year? Sleeping in? No, I tried to wake up at 6:25 this morning. I distinctly remember hearing my Palm Pilot's alarm going off, and thinking "oh shoot they're going to be pissed if I don't turn that off right now!" Then I turn it off and immediatly I start thinking about how I'm going to not fall back asleep. Often it is like a civil war.
"You need to get up for shul" I tell myself.
"But I don't want to get up!"
"But you have to!"
"But it's cold outside the bed, and I'm tired, and it would be so much better to just go back to sleep"
"But you set your alarm for now, and it was probably for a really good reason (that I can't quite remember being 3/4 asleep) and anyways you're already up, so get out of that bed, put your dang clothes on and get to shul somehow before you miss the 6:45 minyan! After all, wouldn't it suck if you slept in and missed it?"
That gets me maybe half the time to get out of bed. This morning I was not so fortunate. I don't remember going back to sleep. My last thought may have been something like
"I'll just lie back for a minute so I can work up the energy to get out of bed."
So anyways I wake up and it's 8:15. I don't have an issue WAKING up, just getting up. This is a very fine line. So my brother (Out of Ammo) of course gets up right away and starts getting me up.
At this point in the morning I am never in the mood to put up with crap, especially since I always know right away that I slept in even though I was up and thinking earlier. So my brother starts being annoying so I'll get up. I believe if it were anyone but him I may have gotten up, it's just something about the tone it's said in in combination with my already annoyed additude that bugs me. The conversation this morning went something like this:
"Get up!"
*muffled grunt*
"Come on get up!"
*no response* (at this point I think if I don't bother you you won't bother me)
"Get up!"
*slightly irritated grunt* Noise I can take.
"Get up!" (starts pulling at my blanket, not very succesful. I have improved on defending my blanket after years of crappy veckers)
"Get up!"
Now I will do anything to stop him from saying that.
"Will you cut it out?"
"but you need to get up!"
"That's great, but it's not your problem! I'll get up when I'm ready!"
slight pause
"But you need to get up!"
Around here i'm just like "this is going nowhere" so I just get up since I'm mostly awake by then anyways, but really, not the best way to start the day.
Me thinking: Cool it's winter break! Oh no! I only have Five days left and then I have a whole semester all over again!
So how does one enjoy the one week long vacation with no yom tovs one gets all year? Sleeping in? No, I tried to wake up at 6:25 this morning. I distinctly remember hearing my Palm Pilot's alarm going off, and thinking "oh shoot they're going to be pissed if I don't turn that off right now!" Then I turn it off and immediatly I start thinking about how I'm going to not fall back asleep. Often it is like a civil war.
"You need to get up for shul" I tell myself.
"But I don't want to get up!"
"But you have to!"
"But it's cold outside the bed, and I'm tired, and it would be so much better to just go back to sleep"
"But you set your alarm for now, and it was probably for a really good reason (that I can't quite remember being 3/4 asleep) and anyways you're already up, so get out of that bed, put your dang clothes on and get to shul somehow before you miss the 6:45 minyan! After all, wouldn't it suck if you slept in and missed it?"
That gets me maybe half the time to get out of bed. This morning I was not so fortunate. I don't remember going back to sleep. My last thought may have been something like
"I'll just lie back for a minute so I can work up the energy to get out of bed."
So anyways I wake up and it's 8:15. I don't have an issue WAKING up, just getting up. This is a very fine line. So my brother (Out of Ammo) of course gets up right away and starts getting me up.
At this point in the morning I am never in the mood to put up with crap, especially since I always know right away that I slept in even though I was up and thinking earlier. So my brother starts being annoying so I'll get up. I believe if it were anyone but him I may have gotten up, it's just something about the tone it's said in in combination with my already annoyed additude that bugs me. The conversation this morning went something like this:
"Get up!"
*muffled grunt*
"Come on get up!"
*no response* (at this point I think if I don't bother you you won't bother me)
"Get up!"
*slightly irritated grunt* Noise I can take.
"Get up!" (starts pulling at my blanket, not very succesful. I have improved on defending my blanket after years of crappy veckers)
"Get up!"
Now I will do anything to stop him from saying that.
"Will you cut it out?"
"but you need to get up!"
"That's great, but it's not your problem! I'll get up when I'm ready!"
slight pause
"But you need to get up!"
Around here i'm just like "this is going nowhere" so I just get up since I'm mostly awake by then anyways, but really, not the best way to start the day.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
This Sucks
While I realize that many of you will not have much interest in reading this, and it will probably invoke some "who cares" faces out of many of you reading it, it's pretty much what's going on with me right now and I need to blow off some steam about it.
To the untrained eye, I have the perfect dorm room this year. The treasured "5 man room" (even the alumni came in and told us it was the best room in the school), the best shower, and I even got all the roommmates I had requested the year before (+ one I had in freshman year and created many social complications- but I can get past that). But if you spent ten minutes in there with everyone together, you would see things are not as good as they would appear. That something the Rabbis have trouble with. But we'll get to that later.
The thing is, one of the people on that "request list" is not quite the same person he was a year ago. Maybe that's just how I see it since I didn't spend a ton of time with him last year, maybe he actually did get worse. But he's definetly got plans for his life that would differ with the yeshiva's more than a little. For those yeshivish readers, he would be called "off the derech". But that's not to say he's a mean person. A little...forceful maybe, but all in all, definetly a nice guy. Even though every other word he utters is a curse word as bad as they come, and although the things he discusses are not very "neshoma enriching", he's still not a mean person. He has however, practically admitted to us that he doesn't believe in God, and never goes to davening.
Do I care about all this? A little, not enough to really do anything about it.
But there's another guy (one I didn't request) who may believe in God, but is half the time a total jerk, and the other time an awesome person. This one baffles me. He plays the worst type of rap music on the radio in our room 24/7 (or did, until the radio was confiscated) but recieves dvar torah's once a week from his father, which he graciously forwards to me. I can't stand him when he's being a jerk, but when he's in a nice mood, he's great. Him and the other guy I talked about are great friends and both love the room.
That leaves me and two other people. We're the "Jewish" half of the room. That basically means we come to davening, don't mouth off to the rabbeim, and don't have goyish friends (as opposed to the other two). And we didn't really enjoy the influence of the other two for the first four months or so. We were worried we would be like them by the end of the year. Meanwhile another friend of mine desperatly wants to switch out of his two man room because he can't stand his roommate, and was pushing for a room switch. Things all got really complicated, with vast plans of who did and didn't want to room with who, and in the end one of the three jewish guys from my room went to the Rabbi. He told them he didn't like their influence and wanted a change. He also told them that me and the other jewish guy wanted the same thing (which was true- but to an extent). So the two of us got pulled out of class and talked to by the rabbi about all this. We didn't snitch. The Rabbi told us first that we were not going to snitch to him and nothing we told him would get them in trouble. Okay. So he asked us if they were doing certain things, all of which they were. Then we discussed what the change would be. The two guys definetly did not want to leave the room (one dropped in right before the meeting and told the rabbi that) but the rabbi decided that if they're going to be a bad influence, they're going to have to leave. We said okay. That night, the rabbi broke the news to the two roommates who would be forced out of the room. They did not take it very well. For the first two days not much was said between us. But after a while, the jerk started accusing me of snitching (an accusation that still is going on) and the other one said he didn't trust me but otherwise has made his peace. (the plan called for him to get his own room)
Things have died down a little, but basically I wound up with most of the blame, since I'm kind of the goody goody in our room. Things were much more serious a while ago, but the resentment can still be felt for sure. No switch has actually happened yet (the rabbeim take forever to do anything) but things might move smoother now that someone was expelled (extra space). Sounds cruel, but is very true.
Thanks for reading Dovid Safir.
To the untrained eye, I have the perfect dorm room this year. The treasured "5 man room" (even the alumni came in and told us it was the best room in the school), the best shower, and I even got all the roommmates I had requested the year before (+ one I had in freshman year and created many social complications- but I can get past that). But if you spent ten minutes in there with everyone together, you would see things are not as good as they would appear. That something the Rabbis have trouble with. But we'll get to that later.
The thing is, one of the people on that "request list" is not quite the same person he was a year ago. Maybe that's just how I see it since I didn't spend a ton of time with him last year, maybe he actually did get worse. But he's definetly got plans for his life that would differ with the yeshiva's more than a little. For those yeshivish readers, he would be called "off the derech". But that's not to say he's a mean person. A little...forceful maybe, but all in all, definetly a nice guy. Even though every other word he utters is a curse word as bad as they come, and although the things he discusses are not very "neshoma enriching", he's still not a mean person. He has however, practically admitted to us that he doesn't believe in God, and never goes to davening.
Do I care about all this? A little, not enough to really do anything about it.
But there's another guy (one I didn't request) who may believe in God, but is half the time a total jerk, and the other time an awesome person. This one baffles me. He plays the worst type of rap music on the radio in our room 24/7 (or did, until the radio was confiscated) but recieves dvar torah's once a week from his father, which he graciously forwards to me. I can't stand him when he's being a jerk, but when he's in a nice mood, he's great. Him and the other guy I talked about are great friends and both love the room.
That leaves me and two other people. We're the "Jewish" half of the room. That basically means we come to davening, don't mouth off to the rabbeim, and don't have goyish friends (as opposed to the other two). And we didn't really enjoy the influence of the other two for the first four months or so. We were worried we would be like them by the end of the year. Meanwhile another friend of mine desperatly wants to switch out of his two man room because he can't stand his roommate, and was pushing for a room switch. Things all got really complicated, with vast plans of who did and didn't want to room with who, and in the end one of the three jewish guys from my room went to the Rabbi. He told them he didn't like their influence and wanted a change. He also told them that me and the other jewish guy wanted the same thing (which was true- but to an extent). So the two of us got pulled out of class and talked to by the rabbi about all this. We didn't snitch. The Rabbi told us first that we were not going to snitch to him and nothing we told him would get them in trouble. Okay. So he asked us if they were doing certain things, all of which they were. Then we discussed what the change would be. The two guys definetly did not want to leave the room (one dropped in right before the meeting and told the rabbi that) but the rabbi decided that if they're going to be a bad influence, they're going to have to leave. We said okay. That night, the rabbi broke the news to the two roommates who would be forced out of the room. They did not take it very well. For the first two days not much was said between us. But after a while, the jerk started accusing me of snitching (an accusation that still is going on) and the other one said he didn't trust me but otherwise has made his peace. (the plan called for him to get his own room)
Things have died down a little, but basically I wound up with most of the blame, since I'm kind of the goody goody in our room. Things were much more serious a while ago, but the resentment can still be felt for sure. No switch has actually happened yet (the rabbeim take forever to do anything) but things might move smoother now that someone was expelled (extra space). Sounds cruel, but is very true.
Thanks for reading Dovid Safir.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Sorry
I've been meaning to post for a very long time but I still don't have enough time to make a post.
That should tell you how busy I am. (or how hard it is for me to get to the internet) I'll try to post again soon. I think facebook has really distracted me, and hasn't done me very much good.
Something should go up this week.
That should tell you how busy I am. (or how hard it is for me to get to the internet) I'll try to post again soon. I think facebook has really distracted me, and hasn't done me very much good.
Something should go up this week.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Me? On Facebook??
I'm so Happy! I'm finally on facebook!
Yay!
...what's facebook again?
I really have no idea how to work this thing, and it does show a little in my "profile page". I find blogger so much better. I didn't somehow make blogger think I was in Wisberch Grammer School. And what is this "wall"? A place for me to sit back and bask in the radiance of my own wisdom which I have written to myself?
I have a sneaking suspicion that facebook is completely useless if I don't have any friends. And there's little hope of anyone from a London Grammer school approving my requests. But if anyone happens to get a request from me, please confirm it and let me know you exist.
I need all the help I can get.
Yay!
...what's facebook again?
I really have no idea how to work this thing, and it does show a little in my "profile page". I find blogger so much better. I didn't somehow make blogger think I was in Wisberch Grammer School. And what is this "wall"? A place for me to sit back and bask in the radiance of my own wisdom which I have written to myself?
I have a sneaking suspicion that facebook is completely useless if I don't have any friends. And there's little hope of anyone from a London Grammer school approving my requests. But if anyone happens to get a request from me, please confirm it and let me know you exist.
I need all the help I can get.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
An annoying philosphy question that's not really philosophy
VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE:
I forgot to include their biggest argument, which is that it's two against one (one person wants to sleep, while the two of them want to play magic, and they think it's unfair that they're getting kicked out for one person.)
Okay, if anyone who's reading this just read my sister's blog (older), please don't read this until a little later because it will look really shallow and pointless.
As none of you know, I am living in a five person room right now. It is extremley difficult for five people to agree to do the same thing at the same time. Like sleep for example. But there is a specific problem my room is facing right now on Shabbos afternoons that I was hoping someone out there would help me fix.
Usually, for me, after eating cholent, I am unable to do pretty much anything besides flop on a bed or couch and sleep till, or possibly through mincha. One of my roommates appears to have this very same issue. But two of my other roommates don't seem to get this problem- and are huge magic addicts.
For those of you who don't know, Magic is a trading card game that lasts for HOURS. No joke. These guys go at it all afternoon. ALL afternoon. 5 hours 6 hours 7 hours, doesn't matter. And it's not the quietest game either. Many times have I woken up to the sweet sound of-
OOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!! SNAP!!!!!!!! (translation- I win)
I however, who lacks the spine and guts to tell them to be quiet (I don't feel it's necessary, I'm lazy, my list of rationalizations go on) just meekly try to get back to sleep, which never works. My other sleeping roommate however, tells them to be quiet, or play somewhere else.
They take extreme offense immediatly. "Your kicking us out of our OWN room so you can SLEEP! Who's being selfish here?" This particular person has quite a bit of energy because he slept through all of Shabbos davening. In his room. In his bed.
My sleeping roommate eventually leaves and sleeps somewhere else. I argue that it's much easier to find somewhere else to play magic than it is to find someplace to sleep, but they really never agree with anything I say, being stubborn and bringing in more crude, flawed logic to their side.
Any suggestions?
I forgot to include their biggest argument, which is that it's two against one (one person wants to sleep, while the two of them want to play magic, and they think it's unfair that they're getting kicked out for one person.)
Okay, if anyone who's reading this just read my sister's blog (older), please don't read this until a little later because it will look really shallow and pointless.
As none of you know, I am living in a five person room right now. It is extremley difficult for five people to agree to do the same thing at the same time. Like sleep for example. But there is a specific problem my room is facing right now on Shabbos afternoons that I was hoping someone out there would help me fix.
Usually, for me, after eating cholent, I am unable to do pretty much anything besides flop on a bed or couch and sleep till, or possibly through mincha. One of my roommates appears to have this very same issue. But two of my other roommates don't seem to get this problem- and are huge magic addicts.
For those of you who don't know, Magic is a trading card game that lasts for HOURS. No joke. These guys go at it all afternoon. ALL afternoon. 5 hours 6 hours 7 hours, doesn't matter. And it's not the quietest game either. Many times have I woken up to the sweet sound of-
OOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!! SNAP!!!!!!!! (translation- I win)
I however, who lacks the spine and guts to tell them to be quiet (I don't feel it's necessary, I'm lazy, my list of rationalizations go on) just meekly try to get back to sleep, which never works. My other sleeping roommate however, tells them to be quiet, or play somewhere else.
They take extreme offense immediatly. "Your kicking us out of our OWN room so you can SLEEP! Who's being selfish here?" This particular person has quite a bit of energy because he slept through all of Shabbos davening. In his room. In his bed.
My sleeping roommate eventually leaves and sleeps somewhere else. I argue that it's much easier to find somewhere else to play magic than it is to find someplace to sleep, but they really never agree with anything I say, being stubborn and bringing in more crude, flawed logic to their side.
Any suggestions?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
OHMYGOSH!
I just realized that it's 10:09 PM and I have a Halacha test tommorow! Oh, well. I guess that awesome blog I was going to write is just going to have to wait!
Bye!
Bye!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
We Juniors Are Just Too Nice These Days
There are lots of differentiations between "New Witz" and "Old Witz", many of which I can't really relate to. But I have been here for quite some time (three years) and I can tell you that if there's one thing that has changed since I was a freshman, it's the upper-lower classmen relations.
When I was a freshman, I was terrified of the Juniors and Seniors. Maybe that's just me, but the sophomores alone were enough to keep me on my toes. After all, they did come into my room one night with the intent of whipping me with belts (They afterwards said it was a joke). Seniors had very little or nothing to do with us, and if they did happen to talk to you, it was either to tell you to go away or shut up. This still holds true to today, but what's really changed is the way the freshman and the juniors interact.
When I got out of sophomore year, I thought the next two years would be a breeze. I wouldn't have anybody annoying me because the seniors are too mature to care, and the freshman and sophomores are all below me and wouldn't try anything. Unfortunatly, I soon discovered, along with many others who had shared my thinking, that this was not the case. You see, the freshman this year don't really realize that they can't make fun of people TWO GRADES OLDER THAN THEM, to THEIR FACE, and expect to get away with it. This is partially because this year's freshman class is filled with a bunch of dimwits. I'm serious. These guys are dumb as doorknobs. But either way, it doesn't really matter since my class is really to nice to do anything to them. I mean, if we wanted to, we could show them who's boss and they'd learn to leave us alone, (and some of us certainly have; the message however, has not been recieved) but that's not really us. I think that's because we know what it's like to be terrorized by upperclassmen (our juniors were jerks). So what's the outcome of all this going to be? These freshman will grow up to be mean juniors, who will pick on the freshman, who in turn will grow up to be nice juniors who will be too nice to pick on their freshman because of what THEIR juniors did to them. It's an interesting cycle, actually.
When I was a freshman, I was terrified of the Juniors and Seniors. Maybe that's just me, but the sophomores alone were enough to keep me on my toes. After all, they did come into my room one night with the intent of whipping me with belts (They afterwards said it was a joke). Seniors had very little or nothing to do with us, and if they did happen to talk to you, it was either to tell you to go away or shut up. This still holds true to today, but what's really changed is the way the freshman and the juniors interact.
When I got out of sophomore year, I thought the next two years would be a breeze. I wouldn't have anybody annoying me because the seniors are too mature to care, and the freshman and sophomores are all below me and wouldn't try anything. Unfortunatly, I soon discovered, along with many others who had shared my thinking, that this was not the case. You see, the freshman this year don't really realize that they can't make fun of people TWO GRADES OLDER THAN THEM, to THEIR FACE, and expect to get away with it. This is partially because this year's freshman class is filled with a bunch of dimwits. I'm serious. These guys are dumb as doorknobs. But either way, it doesn't really matter since my class is really to nice to do anything to them. I mean, if we wanted to, we could show them who's boss and they'd learn to leave us alone, (and some of us certainly have; the message however, has not been recieved) but that's not really us. I think that's because we know what it's like to be terrorized by upperclassmen (our juniors were jerks). So what's the outcome of all this going to be? These freshman will grow up to be mean juniors, who will pick on the freshman, who in turn will grow up to be nice juniors who will be too nice to pick on their freshman because of what THEIR juniors did to them. It's an interesting cycle, actually.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Chemistry Class
Not that I like school or anything, but I pride myself in being able to find the good in most anything. And so far this year, I have managed to keep myself fairly interested in the stuff I'm supposedly learning. Thus, as most of my class routinly does, I am not a big "trouble maker". It's not in my nature to set off a stink bomb in class, or just callously insult teachers like they're not real people. Maybe that's intellect kicking in. I'd like to think so.
But last Wednesday, it didn't take a rocket scientist to find out what to do and what not to do when I walked into Chemistry Class.
I've heard lots of stories from my brother about Chemistry class. How the teacher is known to go beserk and just kick people out of class to alliviate some of his anger. So I generally stay quiet, rarely ask questions, and he's actually come to think pretty highly of me. But when I walk into the classroom at the begining of the period, and the teacher strangly resembles a tomato, I don't exactly try to crack a joke with him.
I walk in, and some sophomores from last period are still there, crowding around his desk handing in papers. Most just wanted to get out of there, but some were taking their time. One tiny sophmore slowly works his way through the crowd and goes up to the teacher.
"sir, I'm really sorry about-"
"You? I don't want to talk to you I'm sick of you!"
"But sir, I'm really-"
"Get out of my sight!"
"I was just trying-"
"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!"
The miniature sophomore puts on an "I didn't do it" face and walks out into the hallway carefully.
"You JERK!" The teacher adds as the student leaves the room.
"This is a shut-up day" I thought to myself, and quickly sat down at a table.
Other people, unfortunatly did not seem to grasp this concept, and out of the sheer boredom that is chemistry class, began to cause a bit of a ruckus.
The teacher had just assigned us a chapter to read to ourselves while he graded some tests he wanted to hand back. (and wait for himself to calm down) So one guy in the back decides that's boring, and reads to himself outloud.
The teacher tells him to knock it off, so he starts reading quietly to himself. A few minutes later the teacher yells at him:
"I don't believe that you don't know how to read to yourself! That's a second grade skill!"
"Sir I skipped second grade."
What the heck is going through this kids' brain, I think to myself. But there's no way I'm saying anything, so the only thing to do as I have learned is to keep a straight face and watch the show.
The teacher of course blows up at him and talks about how he thought he had "outgrown that childish behavior". The guy does not get kicked out, but severly warned. So the reading continues. And someone starts humming, and someone starts tapping his pencil, and two people start joking with each other, and I just don't know what to think. Am I a goody two shoes, or are these people morons? I don't seek to piss a teacher off even if I'm bored and I hate him. I think that's because I can think ahead to the point where I know it won't do anyone any good anyways; a trait these guys probably lack. I feel like it's just common sense, and the reason I came up with was just that teenage boys are the dumbest entities on planet Earth.
But last Wednesday, it didn't take a rocket scientist to find out what to do and what not to do when I walked into Chemistry Class.
I've heard lots of stories from my brother about Chemistry class. How the teacher is known to go beserk and just kick people out of class to alliviate some of his anger. So I generally stay quiet, rarely ask questions, and he's actually come to think pretty highly of me. But when I walk into the classroom at the begining of the period, and the teacher strangly resembles a tomato, I don't exactly try to crack a joke with him.
I walk in, and some sophomores from last period are still there, crowding around his desk handing in papers. Most just wanted to get out of there, but some were taking their time. One tiny sophmore slowly works his way through the crowd and goes up to the teacher.
"sir, I'm really sorry about-"
"You? I don't want to talk to you I'm sick of you!"
"But sir, I'm really-"
"Get out of my sight!"
"I was just trying-"
"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!"
The miniature sophomore puts on an "I didn't do it" face and walks out into the hallway carefully.
"You JERK!" The teacher adds as the student leaves the room.
"This is a shut-up day" I thought to myself, and quickly sat down at a table.
Other people, unfortunatly did not seem to grasp this concept, and out of the sheer boredom that is chemistry class, began to cause a bit of a ruckus.
The teacher had just assigned us a chapter to read to ourselves while he graded some tests he wanted to hand back. (and wait for himself to calm down) So one guy in the back decides that's boring, and reads to himself outloud.
The teacher tells him to knock it off, so he starts reading quietly to himself. A few minutes later the teacher yells at him:
"I don't believe that you don't know how to read to yourself! That's a second grade skill!"
"Sir I skipped second grade."
What the heck is going through this kids' brain, I think to myself. But there's no way I'm saying anything, so the only thing to do as I have learned is to keep a straight face and watch the show.
The teacher of course blows up at him and talks about how he thought he had "outgrown that childish behavior". The guy does not get kicked out, but severly warned. So the reading continues. And someone starts humming, and someone starts tapping his pencil, and two people start joking with each other, and I just don't know what to think. Am I a goody two shoes, or are these people morons? I don't seek to piss a teacher off even if I'm bored and I hate him. I think that's because I can think ahead to the point where I know it won't do anyone any good anyways; a trait these guys probably lack. I feel like it's just common sense, and the reason I came up with was just that teenage boys are the dumbest entities on planet Earth.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Israel Videos...
...yeah about those...
My plans were, and are, to make a sort of montage of all the good parts of our 1:40 of videos from Israel. But since I'm still jet lagged, and I'm really busy getting ready for school, I doubt I'll have time to before succos. Oh well.
My plans were, and are, to make a sort of montage of all the good parts of our 1:40 of videos from Israel. But since I'm still jet lagged, and I'm really busy getting ready for school, I doubt I'll have time to before succos. Oh well.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Aren't those guys weird mommy?
This past friday night we were walking back from a meal at our cousin's house (me and my mom and the pt and fudge; the others had gone on ahead.) The pt had been falling asleep before we left, but we gave her a chocolate with lots of colorful sprinkles on it, told her it was super energy chocolates and suddenly she was full of energy. My mom asked her if she could feel the energy going into her and she said "yeah, I really feel it!".
So anyways, we were walking home with a now-hyper the pt (look I'm doing russian dancing in the middle of the street!), with me and my mom on either side of her, both of us holding one of her hands, and we past by a group of twenty or so teenagers hanging out on the corner of the street by some benches, talking and laughing. A loud POP from that general area drew our attention toward them.
The pt : Ummm... what are those guys doing?
Mrs. B: Making trouble probably.
The pt: Yeah, just hanging out...doing their things...probably not NORMAL (emphasis on that last word).
Me, fudge, and Mrs. B: Okay the pt, lets go, lets just keep moving...just stop talking...
But she just kept talking. And since in ramat beit shemesh everyone is shomer shabbos, there were absolutly no cars out in the street. No sound except for those guys and the pt practicly yelling "Those guys are so weird, what are they doing anyway? Aren't those guys weird mommy?"
So anyways, we were walking home with a now-hyper the pt (look I'm doing russian dancing in the middle of the street!), with me and my mom on either side of her, both of us holding one of her hands, and we past by a group of twenty or so teenagers hanging out on the corner of the street by some benches, talking and laughing. A loud POP from that general area drew our attention toward them.
The pt : Ummm... what are those guys doing?
Mrs. B: Making trouble probably.
The pt: Yeah, just hanging out...doing their things...probably not NORMAL (emphasis on that last word).
Me, fudge, and Mrs. B: Okay the pt, lets go, lets just keep moving...just stop talking...
But she just kept talking. And since in ramat beit shemesh everyone is shomer shabbos, there were absolutly no cars out in the street. No sound except for those guys and the pt practicly yelling "Those guys are so weird, what are they doing anyway? Aren't those guys weird mommy?"
Thursday, August 16, 2007
News Flash!
Well, my sources have informed me that psychotoddler has the cable for the camera, (and he's back in not-israel) so no pictures are going up until I get back.
Too bad really. I'd like to get them up here now, but what can you do?
Too bad really. I'd like to get them up here now, but what can you do?
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Pictures and Stuff
I'm trying to get some more movies and pictures on the blog, but as of right now I can't connect my camera to the computer. I'll get them up as soon as I can.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Goodbye...maybe
Well, I'll be in Isreal for the next three weeks. Whether you can expect a day to day journal on our trip while I'm gone or three weeks of staring at this barren, forgotten blog is hard to say at the moment. Oh well. I guess you'll know by tommorow. Or not. In case you don't see any updates from me, you can at least look at that picture of Rafiki Potter down there while I'm gone. That picture is just hilarious.
And you can expect a very impressive video summarizing our trip when I get back, as long as I have enough time before school to make one.
And you can expect a very impressive video summarizing our trip when I get back, as long as I have enough time before school to make one.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
I don't look like Daniel Radcliffe!
Nope, I'm just not seeing it here.
Anyways, what am I talking about?
I went to the movies some wednesday night. I saw a movie called Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (is that really how it's spelled?) It was a great movie. I thought it was just fantastic. But as we're walking out of the theater, my father runs into another doctor he works with ( which is a huge coincidence, since they both only go to the movies like twice a year) and decides to introduce us to his family. When he gets up to me, he says "oh yeah this is the one that looks like Harry Potter." Everyone starts crowding around and the other doctor says "yeah he does look like harry potter." and then his wife is like "yeah, he even smiles like him"
Awkward Turtle.
I've actually, believe it or not, been hearing this every now and then since, oh i don't know, fifth grade? At the time, it was actually a close call in my class for who looked more like harry potter between me and one other guy, and I lost. (and that was when I had my giant glasses) Therefore, I have no reason to believe that I look anything like him. Well okay, maybe I look like harry potter, but I better not look like Daniel Radcliffe.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Yonina makes a movie
Yonina took the first half of this herself. It's kinda long (8 minutes) but it's pretty funny. And we interview her "History channel style" about Yoninan, her made up language.
UPDATE- second part has been removed
UPDATE- second part has been removed
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
I'll make this movie when they're old enough to handle it
There is actually a story behind this. This is Yonina's game that we play whenever we take her outside to the backyard. She always plays "Space", which usually consists of her going to Jupitor or Mars on the glider and fighting the grill. (Aprapo this post)
I wanted to make a movie yesterday but I didn't know what to make. So Yonina suggested this, and we tried it, but the footage was mostly unusable, and we even stopped halfway through because we thought it was stupid, so we just wound up making this trailer and waiting until they could do a normal, serious movie. (Summer 2008)
Monday, March 26, 2007
ATTACKED!
This past Sunday I witnessed an incredible, horryifing (though probably not unprecedented) event unfold in the WITS lunchroom.
As we were all happily chewing our stale february 7th cocoa krispies and Islandberry crunches, I noticed that both of the doors on either side of the room were open. I figured it must have been because of the toaster, which had very suddenley started spewing smoke everywhere, like it occasionally does.
It was getting rather cold and I wasn't about to go all the way upstairs to get a sweatshirt, but I was also too lazy to get up and close the doors, especially since I knew if I tried a junior would tell me to leave it open and all that effort would have gone to waste anyway.
So I left the door open.
Suddenly, someone yells "SQUIRREL!!!!!!!"
Now my school is filled with kids who pride themselves in working out every other night and being incredibly strong, dignified, good looking people. However, the might of the WITS high school was clearly no match for the bushy-tailed invader that ran into that dining room that day.
Everyone immediatly jumped on top of chairs and started shreiking of course. Those people who weren't making fun of their classmates' shrieking like little girls were either screaming, watching the fun, or running to get cameras.
I was, of course, not on a chair. I was also of course, not shrieking.
So I watched as the confused squirrel ran up to the stained-glass windows trying to get out. It stayed at one for a little while, then jumped off and ran across the tables. Everyone was ducking for cover and clearing a path for it to run wherever it pleased.
Little was being done to get the squirrel out of the school. The Rosh Yeshiva did come in early on and instruct the students to close off all exits to the dining room so that it wouldn't escape into the dorms and be lost forever. It was clear that the Rabbi had seen this sort of thing in the past.
Well, I'm not entirly sure how this story ended, since I had to go to class only halfway through. I saw a tall junior trying to poke it with a long roll of plastic tablecloth. It eventually got stuck in the wall, and was somehow coaxed out of the building.
Security has been beefed up in order that nothing like this catastrophe should ever happen again. Well okay not really, but whatever...
Monday, March 05, 2007
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
FULAXIN- COMING SOON
Basically we had an english assignment where we had to experiment with propaganda techniques in our own honest to goodness home made video. I figured this was my area of expertise, seeing as how I've already made two videos myself.
I'll try to get my ad up here soon.
I'll try to get my ad up here soon.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
welcome back
I'm going back to my Yeshiva in a couple minutes. It's not exactly a happy time. I've been home for an entire week of not school, and I am very suddenly going to be forced back into the annoying world of biology, geometry, history, gemara, chumash, and whatever. Not to mention I won't be home and will be eating alan food.
But there is a silver lining. I'll be back with my friends, I'll be waking up later (yes its true), and I'll have alot more free time to myself to just sit down and relax. You see, when I'm at home, I can always hear the clock ticking, and I know that every second is one that I'm not going to get back. But when I'm at school, I can just sit down, you know, only 2143 hours left.
Sometimes I feel like my real vacation is when I'm at school. At least physically.
But there is a silver lining. I'll be back with my friends, I'll be waking up later (yes its true), and I'll have alot more free time to myself to just sit down and relax. You see, when I'm at home, I can always hear the clock ticking, and I know that every second is one that I'm not going to get back. But when I'm at school, I can just sit down, you know, only 2143 hours left.
Sometimes I feel like my real vacation is when I'm at school. At least physically.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Still working on that camera...
Well, I'm still trying to get a nice camera to have at school with me. It's kind of frustrating because I think about it alot more than I should and I always want to talk to people about what's buzzing around in my head; but mostly the comment I get when I bring it up goes something like "why would you want a camera?" or their personal favorite, "what would you do with a camera?" Well, here's your answer. For those of you who have asked me this in person, it's kind of hard for me to say it off hand because I just draw a bunch of blanks, but I think I can put it in writing.
So, #1 is because I want to be able to have something to remember my high school years by, and I've already missed my freshman year and half of my sophomore year. It would be cool to be able to show underclassmen pictures of my class when we were sophomores, when I'm like, a senior.
#2 is the possibility of making a movie at school. It's not terribly likely at this point, but it would be so funny if I ended up doing it.
#3 is that i want to be able to put pictures on my blog.
Ok I gotta go.
So, #1 is because I want to be able to have something to remember my high school years by, and I've already missed my freshman year and half of my sophomore year. It would be cool to be able to show underclassmen pictures of my class when we were sophomores, when I'm like, a senior.
#2 is the possibility of making a movie at school. It's not terribly likely at this point, but it would be so funny if I ended up doing it.
#3 is that i want to be able to put pictures on my blog.
Ok I gotta go.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Guess what?
Does anyone here know what cholent is?
How about jewstew?
I not-so-recently have begun cooking cholent at my school. The first few weren't so good, but now I make one of the best cholents in the school. I don't really sell it that much, but it's nice to be able to have cholent on chicken night and stuff like that.
On that note, I recently had to clean the entire cooking lab with my roommate. They were about to close it up and lock it forever, but I made a deal with the cooking-lab-keeper that if I cleaned it tonight, he would keep it open. They were going to close it because it was really really dirty. The guy told me he had to be able to lick the floor.
Boy have we got our work cut out for us.
Well, we did it, and it took up my entire evening. But I sure do feel accomplished; and I was able to make my cholent that night and avoid chicken night.
How about jewstew?
I not-so-recently have begun cooking cholent at my school. The first few weren't so good, but now I make one of the best cholents in the school. I don't really sell it that much, but it's nice to be able to have cholent on chicken night and stuff like that.
On that note, I recently had to clean the entire cooking lab with my roommate. They were about to close it up and lock it forever, but I made a deal with the cooking-lab-keeper that if I cleaned it tonight, he would keep it open. They were going to close it because it was really really dirty. The guy told me he had to be able to lick the floor.
Boy have we got our work cut out for us.
Well, we did it, and it took up my entire evening. But I sure do feel accomplished; and I was able to make my cholent that night and avoid chicken night.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
now what?
So now that I've finished my home movie making (i dare not go into the realm of plot and script with my younger siblings), it's time to take it to school. I've wanted to make a school movie ever since I saw l'Tovah's one, nad now that I know a little bit about movie making, I would like to give it a shot. But there are a few problems with this.
a) I don't have a camera.
b) I can't get myself to buy a camera because I don't actually have a specific plot or idea of what to make the movie about (though I have the perfect music!) and because I want to replace my newly confiscated mp3 player.
Also, if I spent my time on making a movie, it would distract me from doing the types of things that would get me viruses on the computers, and we would get our internet back. But that would also mean it would distract me from my schoolwork.
It's really annoying to want two things equally and being forced to buy one. But I really shouldn't complain, seeing as one of my friends lost his wallet and broke his mp3 player practically on the same day.
Well, I guess I'll let you know what happens.
a) I don't have a camera.
b) I can't get myself to buy a camera because I don't actually have a specific plot or idea of what to make the movie about (though I have the perfect music!) and because I want to replace my newly confiscated mp3 player.
Also, if I spent my time on making a movie, it would distract me from doing the types of things that would get me viruses on the computers, and we would get our internet back. But that would also mean it would distract me from my schoolwork.
It's really annoying to want two things equally and being forced to buy one. But I really shouldn't complain, seeing as one of my friends lost his wallet and broke his mp3 player practically on the same day.
Well, I guess I'll let you know what happens.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Outtakes
Here they are. The movie just isn't quite as funny without this. You can hear yonina babbling throughout the entire movie.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
I'm Back
I have not posted a blog for a long time. It hasn't really been my fault, so I hope no one got too upset. I have been either busy or didn't have internet access or was fixing a virus or didn't have time, or just plain didn't feel like it, but that doesn't mean I haven't had anything to talk about. I have had alot of things to talk about. In fact, I'm not so sure how I'm going to get them all up here now. I think I'll just post the more important things:
You know that mp3 player I'd Boughtten a few posts ago. It's gone. Been confiscated by Rebbe Dog (foust gets it) Rabbi oripahS. And as far as I can tell, I ain't gettin' it back. How? I was listening to music on it with headphones. Now, my brother 30cal happens to be this Rabbi's student right now, and it seem he and the Rabbi have had debates about this rule before, with my brother gaining a small amount of ground here and there. So it's possible that if I can completely convince him that the rule is stupid, he'll give it back. You'll have to ask 30cal what that argument is. I don't really know myself.
Next, me got a virus. Oh, it was terrible. I was just trying to find a way to play Age of Empires 2 w/o the cd for Iguana, and suddenly this big scary message from Norton popped up. Oh it was scary. But it's all fixed by now so there's not much to talk about. It never happened. Except now all our internet privilages have been severely limited, which is understandable. But it all stinks, just the same.
And what else? I guess I forgot the rest.
You know that mp3 player I'd Boughtten a few posts ago. It's gone. Been confiscated by Rebbe Dog (foust gets it) Rabbi oripahS. And as far as I can tell, I ain't gettin' it back. How? I was listening to music on it with headphones. Now, my brother 30cal happens to be this Rabbi's student right now, and it seem he and the Rabbi have had debates about this rule before, with my brother gaining a small amount of ground here and there. So it's possible that if I can completely convince him that the rule is stupid, he'll give it back. You'll have to ask 30cal what that argument is. I don't really know myself.
Next, me got a virus. Oh, it was terrible. I was just trying to find a way to play Age of Empires 2 w/o the cd for Iguana, and suddenly this big scary message from Norton popped up. Oh it was scary. But it's all fixed by now so there's not much to talk about. It never happened. Except now all our internet privilages have been severely limited, which is understandable. But it all stinks, just the same.
And what else? I guess I forgot the rest.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Yummy Milk
Everyone loves milk. Okay, that's not true, but I like milk. But there are times when I do not like milk. I shall relate to you one of these times.
I was spending the Holy Sabbath at my complimentary Yeshiva. Usually these are quite enjoyable. However, there is one aspect that I do not quite enjoy, and that is the kiddush, or "little snack" that consitutes as our breakfast after prayers, or "Shacharit". Usually this consists of what we have all come to regard as "Alan Cake". It's chocolate, moist cake, served with milk. Although sometimes the cake is not chocolate. Sometimes it is banana, or very rarley, vanilla.
This past week it was neither. It was like, dainishes or something. But that was not the important part. It was being served with - get this - CHOCOLATE MILK! YUUUUUMMMM!!!!
Well not quite. We were all getting really excited, but luckily, before anyone drank any, someone said, " Hey, this stuff expired August 20th!!!". Then it was all thrown away, but not before the kitchen guy came over and said " don't worry that stuffs good a whole month after it expires." Then it was all thrown away. Mostly because it smelled bad though.
Now, why the HECK would they have milk that expired August 20th? School started on the 27th! When was it ordered?
...I like chocolate milk...
I was spending the Holy Sabbath at my complimentary Yeshiva. Usually these are quite enjoyable. However, there is one aspect that I do not quite enjoy, and that is the kiddush, or "little snack" that consitutes as our breakfast after prayers, or "Shacharit". Usually this consists of what we have all come to regard as "Alan Cake". It's chocolate, moist cake, served with milk. Although sometimes the cake is not chocolate. Sometimes it is banana, or very rarley, vanilla.
This past week it was neither. It was like, dainishes or something. But that was not the important part. It was being served with - get this - CHOCOLATE MILK! YUUUUUMMMM!!!!
Well not quite. We were all getting really excited, but luckily, before anyone drank any, someone said, " Hey, this stuff expired August 20th!!!". Then it was all thrown away, but not before the kitchen guy came over and said " don't worry that stuffs good a whole month after it expires." Then it was all thrown away. Mostly because it smelled bad though.
Now, why the HECK would they have milk that expired August 20th? School started on the 27th! When was it ordered?
...I like chocolate milk...
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
You guys are gonna love this...
...Ok maybe not.
As the summer goes by, I decided that sitting in front of a computer doing effectivly nothing was not what I wanted to do with my last week here. But what else was there to do in Milwaukee? Plenty you might say, but I have trouble finding anything more exciting then going to the nearby overpriced coffee shop and buying a slurpee for $3.75.
But one day, I had an idea. I was sitting in front of the xbox, playing a complimantery Battlefront 2 when my older brother called down the stairs, "RAFIKI COME TAKE YONINA OUTSIDE". I groaned and slouched back into my complimentary leather chair. Video games have an effect on me that drains away all of my strength or desire to go outside. "Why me?" I thought pitifully to myself, but the calls kept coming as if he couldn't read my mind. After a while I had to go and do it. My 5 year old sister entheusiasticlly (?) told me on the way out "We can play space together on the glider!!" I was not too impressed with this suggestion, but I did it anyways. After a while, my sister inevitably got herself into a battle with her evil twin. And I noticed while she did the battle, she did it much in the same form as a video game we'd been playing together, Final Fantasy VII. Now I had just been watching google videos of people mocking the battle sequences in said game by acting it out themselves. So of course I had the idea to make one ourselves. I said to her "Hey! You want to make a movie of us doing a battle?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay, let's get Iguana!"(other sister)
And of course one thing led to another. But I figured doing all the filming, cutting, and special effects would keep me busy till the school year started. And it would make for a pretty funny video.
So we did it, and that's pretty much what I 've been doing for the last few days. It's almost finished. I'll put it up on YouTube and then here as soon as I figure out how to.
P.S. If you want to see what sort of thing I'm doing, go here.
As the summer goes by, I decided that sitting in front of a computer doing effectivly nothing was not what I wanted to do with my last week here. But what else was there to do in Milwaukee? Plenty you might say, but I have trouble finding anything more exciting then going to the nearby overpriced coffee shop and buying a slurpee for $3.75.
But one day, I had an idea. I was sitting in front of the xbox, playing a complimantery Battlefront 2 when my older brother called down the stairs, "RAFIKI COME TAKE YONINA OUTSIDE". I groaned and slouched back into my complimentary leather chair. Video games have an effect on me that drains away all of my strength or desire to go outside. "Why me?" I thought pitifully to myself, but the calls kept coming as if he couldn't read my mind. After a while I had to go and do it. My 5 year old sister entheusiasticlly (?) told me on the way out "We can play space together on the glider!!" I was not too impressed with this suggestion, but I did it anyways. After a while, my sister inevitably got herself into a battle with her evil twin. And I noticed while she did the battle, she did it much in the same form as a video game we'd been playing together, Final Fantasy VII. Now I had just been watching google videos of people mocking the battle sequences in said game by acting it out themselves. So of course I had the idea to make one ourselves. I said to her "Hey! You want to make a movie of us doing a battle?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay, let's get Iguana!"(other sister)
And of course one thing led to another. But I figured doing all the filming, cutting, and special effects would keep me busy till the school year started. And it would make for a pretty funny video.
So we did it, and that's pretty much what I 've been doing for the last few days. It's almost finished. I'll put it up on YouTube and then here as soon as I figure out how to.
P.S. If you want to see what sort of thing I'm doing, go here.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
I've Boughtten Something!!!
What is it? It's an Mp3 Player!
It's way better than foust's mp3 player, that's for sure.
Where the crap is my $15 mail in rebate!?
Friday, August 11, 2006
Back2School
How sad. As of today, it would seem I only have seventeen days left before I am banished back to my school for another year of Mr. - uh, my english teacher.
That's because there really is only seventeen days left. I swear these summer vacations get shorter every year.
I don't like to think to deeply about this kind of thing because it makes me feel very depressed. I spend the ENTIRE school year counting down the days until summer vacation, and all of summer vacation I'm thinking about how many days I have left until I have to go back to school. So it's really a neverending cycle that is going to continue until I get out of college. And that's a long way from now.
The truth is, I don't really mind school that much. Maybe it's because it gives me something to do, makes me feel like I'm doing something useful, I don't know. And being at my school is great. I love it. It's a ton of fun. There's a bunch of great guys there. So it's not really that I hate going to school, it's that I like being home. I like being with my younger siblings and playing with them and making jokes with them and reading them books, and they love it too. But during the school year, I can only see them at maximum 6 hours a week on sunday.(of course I probably shouldn't talk; out of towners are away from there families for months at a time!) I've discussed this before, and mostly what people say is that you get used to it. And I guess that's true. I was rarely homesick during say, the middle of last year. I mean I could still call them and everything. But whenever I came back from a vacation or a break, I was homesick for a week. That's what I hate. It's not even stuff like not sleeping in my own bed, or my own room, or having to share my room with a roommate ( at home I share my room with 2 brothers!). It's just not being with my family.
Oh well. That's life.
That's because there really is only seventeen days left. I swear these summer vacations get shorter every year.
I don't like to think to deeply about this kind of thing because it makes me feel very depressed. I spend the ENTIRE school year counting down the days until summer vacation, and all of summer vacation I'm thinking about how many days I have left until I have to go back to school. So it's really a neverending cycle that is going to continue until I get out of college. And that's a long way from now.
The truth is, I don't really mind school that much. Maybe it's because it gives me something to do, makes me feel like I'm doing something useful, I don't know. And being at my school is great. I love it. It's a ton of fun. There's a bunch of great guys there. So it's not really that I hate going to school, it's that I like being home. I like being with my younger siblings and playing with them and making jokes with them and reading them books, and they love it too. But during the school year, I can only see them at maximum 6 hours a week on sunday.(of course I probably shouldn't talk; out of towners are away from there families for months at a time!) I've discussed this before, and mostly what people say is that you get used to it. And I guess that's true. I was rarely homesick during say, the middle of last year. I mean I could still call them and everything. But whenever I came back from a vacation or a break, I was homesick for a week. That's what I hate. It's not even stuff like not sleeping in my own bed, or my own room, or having to share my room with a roommate ( at home I share my room with 2 brothers!). It's just not being with my family.
Oh well. That's life.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Top Ten
I was just told that there's a top ten bug going around the bloggosphere. So I decided to catch it because my brother told me to. But what should I do?Hmm... I think I'll do the first thing I think of...well, I'm in a hotel right now soooo....
Top Ten Things I Like About Being In A Hotel
10) They Have Nice Carpets
9) They Look Really Nice On The Outside
8) They're Usually Close To A Place Where I Can Buy Stuff (like the mall of america)
7) They Have Not Wireless High Low Speed Internet
6) They Have Crappy TV's (unless they have good TV's in which case swap this with #3)
5) They Have Nice Desks
4) They Have Pools
3) They Have Jacuzzies In The Rooms (If they don't substitute "They Have Jacuzzies In The Pools")
2) They Have Room Service
and number one is...
THEY HAVE CONITINETAL, COMPLIMANTARY BREAKFAST!! Where everythings kosher except everything except the cereal.
Top Ten Things I Like About Being In A Hotel
10) They Have Nice Carpets
9) They Look Really Nice On The Outside
8) They're Usually Close To A Place Where I Can Buy Stuff (like the mall of america)
7) They Have Not Wireless High Low Speed Internet
6) They Have Crappy TV's (unless they have good TV's in which case swap this with #3)
5) They Have Nice Desks
4) They Have Pools
3) They Have Jacuzzies In The Rooms (If they don't substitute "They Have Jacuzzies In The Pools")
2) They Have Room Service
and number one is...
THEY HAVE CONITINETAL, COMPLIMANTARY BREAKFAST!! Where everythings kosher except everything except the cereal.
Monday, July 10, 2006
freaked
...just a little.
Remember my last post when I told you about my recent obsession with old games? Well it would appear the old stupidity that is called my brain has struck again. I got bored of diablo and doom and decided I wanted to play something else on my computer. But what else was there? I thought for a long time, and my thoughts turned to my "childhood horror", Laura Bow. The game, which is a mystery horror/murder/survival kind-of-a-thing, (released in 1993) was just the thing for my worthless computer. However, it's no longer sold by it's manufactuer (sierra) and I had to break my back and nearly kill myself to find it online. I spent two whole nights google searching hundreds of terms related to the game until I was able to download it. (I'm not even going to mention how many french versions i got by mistake)
But I got it (eventually). I was so happy. I transferred it to my computer and started playing it immediatly. Not five minutes in did I run into a bug that rendered the game non-playable. That afternoon, I fixed it (more or less) and I could finally play Laura Bow 2: The Dagger of Amon Ra.
It was around this time I began to really think about why I had been so afraid of it before. You see, me and my siblings watched my mother play it when I was around 9 (I think), and to put things frankly, it's a pretty freaky game. Despite the pathetic graphics (which don't make a difference during the scary bits anyways) the game, which is about a series of murders occuring at a museum at night with you locked in, has it's ways of being way creepy. It would be difficult to explain it. Here's pretty much the way it works. Whenever you find a murder, you walk into the room, and you'll hear psyco music (while viewing a picture of your character screaming) in a few seconds or so, you'll get a view of the victim's body (in close up graphics; it's basically a paint drawing, but very well done.) at which point you can serach the body for clues as to who-done-it, while way-too-creepy music plays in the background (I may upload some of the music). These pictures are FREAKY! Well, at least, some of them are. There are about 7 or 8 of them, and about 2 or 3 of them seriously disturbed me. They don't just get shot. They get stuffed porcupine needles through their entire torso, they get plastered, and they get bitten by cobras. The whole time you search their stone dead body for clues, they just sit there with their eyes and mouthes wide open, staring at you. I would put some screenshots of the scary ones up, but then, I've almost got it out of my head now, and it would be a shame to look at those pictures all over again.
The game was just as I remembered it. Maybe I thought it wouldn't scare me as much now, and I don't think it has. Back then, I didn't even look at the pictures because my brothers told me they were too scary. Now I actually look at them, and they freak me out. The game has majorly disturbed me in contrast to how I was this morning.
But I guess the joke's on me. After all, I'M the one who spent a total of way too much time looking for this thing online. Now I creeped my self to death with it (if that's possible.) I think I'll go crawl up in a corner and suffer the irony alone, with that DAMN CREEPY MUSIC STILL STUCK IN MY HEAD!
This link shows you one of the less scary murders.
http://kalliope42.com/Main/pages/ziggy.html
Remember my last post when I told you about my recent obsession with old games? Well it would appear the old stupidity that is called my brain has struck again. I got bored of diablo and doom and decided I wanted to play something else on my computer. But what else was there? I thought for a long time, and my thoughts turned to my "childhood horror", Laura Bow. The game, which is a mystery horror/murder/survival kind-of-a-thing, (released in 1993) was just the thing for my worthless computer. However, it's no longer sold by it's manufactuer (sierra) and I had to break my back and nearly kill myself to find it online. I spent two whole nights google searching hundreds of terms related to the game until I was able to download it. (I'm not even going to mention how many french versions i got by mistake)
But I got it (eventually). I was so happy. I transferred it to my computer and started playing it immediatly. Not five minutes in did I run into a bug that rendered the game non-playable. That afternoon, I fixed it (more or less) and I could finally play Laura Bow 2: The Dagger of Amon Ra.
It was around this time I began to really think about why I had been so afraid of it before. You see, me and my siblings watched my mother play it when I was around 9 (I think), and to put things frankly, it's a pretty freaky game. Despite the pathetic graphics (which don't make a difference during the scary bits anyways) the game, which is about a series of murders occuring at a museum at night with you locked in, has it's ways of being way creepy. It would be difficult to explain it. Here's pretty much the way it works. Whenever you find a murder, you walk into the room, and you'll hear psyco music (while viewing a picture of your character screaming) in a few seconds or so, you'll get a view of the victim's body (in close up graphics; it's basically a paint drawing, but very well done.) at which point you can serach the body for clues as to who-done-it, while way-too-creepy music plays in the background (I may upload some of the music). These pictures are FREAKY! Well, at least, some of them are. There are about 7 or 8 of them, and about 2 or 3 of them seriously disturbed me. They don't just get shot. They get stuffed porcupine needles through their entire torso, they get plastered, and they get bitten by cobras. The whole time you search their stone dead body for clues, they just sit there with their eyes and mouthes wide open, staring at you. I would put some screenshots of the scary ones up, but then, I've almost got it out of my head now, and it would be a shame to look at those pictures all over again.
The game was just as I remembered it. Maybe I thought it wouldn't scare me as much now, and I don't think it has. Back then, I didn't even look at the pictures because my brothers told me they were too scary. Now I actually look at them, and they freak me out. The game has majorly disturbed me in contrast to how I was this morning.
But I guess the joke's on me. After all, I'M the one who spent a total of way too much time looking for this thing online. Now I creeped my self to death with it (if that's possible.) I think I'll go crawl up in a corner and suffer the irony alone, with that DAMN CREEPY MUSIC STILL STUCK IN MY HEAD!
This link shows you one of the less scary murders.
http://kalliope42.com/Main/pages/ziggy.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
