Monday, November 30, 2009

Deck the Wha?

I peered out of my tryptophan haze yesterday and realized that people were decorating for Christmas.

I know many Jewish families that have decorated their houses for Christmas, but mine was never one of them. My parents have a collection of menorahs and they stay out all year round on a sideboard in their dining room -- that's the extent of their holiday decor. My apartment building hasn't done anything in the lobby just yet, but I noticed that some of my neighbors have begun to decorate their windows. And I saw that there are other buildings on our street that are, as one would say, "decked out".

Baffled as to how everyone seemed to know that this was the time to start putting up Christmas decor, I posed the following question on Twitter: "When do ppl decide that it's time to put up their Xmas decor? Pls educate the Jewish girl"

The responses I received were varied, amusing and, in some cases, insightful:

"ASAP after Turkey Day is the normal goya [sic] tradition"
"usually 1 or 2 days after Thanksgiving = )"
"When kids beg you long enough, when you have a free weekend or whatever time was YOUR family tradition. ie: No fixed time"
"Whenever mom says"
"in my neighborhood it was the week before thanksgiving. I prefer after thanksgiving."
"When I feel like I have the patience to wrestle with the Christmas lights."
"we just leave it up all year...goes well with the siding"    
"when my kids were little, we used to put up the tree after thanksgiving dinner. we are supposed to put it up 1st day of advent"


Okay, so either there is some rhyme and reason to when Christmas decor goes up - or there is none at all. But this is the time when everyone decorates, so I feel a little less out of the loop.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Dark and Stormy

Inspired by a post that my friend Ali had written on her blog, I'd written a lengthy description of one of my neighbors. But my need for repeated editing has left it in draft form.

So, I'll take this opportunity to introduce you, fair reader, to my new cat, Stormy:



I adopted him yesterday! He came with that name, and I decided its short for Dark And Stormy. He's about a year and a half old, and so far has been very shy; he's found creative hiding places all over my small apartment and seems to find my overstuffed closet the best place of all. (He went back into that particular hidey-hole after this photo was taken.) But he did decide to be social around 5am, which was appreciated.... even if it was 2 hours before my alarm clock went off.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Another List

- Sometimes I miss the routine of school. This does not, however, mean that I have any inclination to get more than those four funky letters that are already after my last name. (Thanks Gtown!)

- List-making has always been a comforting exercise for me. It's part of the way my mind works, and it helps my ADD/OCD mind relax... a little.

- There are times when I still worry about what people think about me. As evidenced by my malicious self-editing and difficulty writing openly here, in a space about which I repeatedly say "no one reads this". (In contrast, I write pretty much whatever I want on Twitter.)

- Things I've been considering: Getting a cat, jailbreaking my iPhone, getting another piercing, chopping my hair. At the moment, the status of these items are as follows: I'm not ready to take care of anything other than myself right now; I don't know how much I'll benefit from that (and possibly void my warranty); the piercing I'm considering would be better done in warmer weather; and I chopped my hair just over a month ago, so I need to actually let it grow some more first.

- I really do have a closet full of nothing to wear.

Friday, November 6, 2009

In a Fog

I've tried to write an update several times today [and am now finally re-writing and re-editing and publishing this several days later], but am finding myself distracted, frustrated, overwhelmed, and constantly censoring myself. How much should I share? Why should I bother? I mean, who reads this anyhow?

Life has been crazy for me lately. There have been some overwhelming events in my personal life that I just can't seem to bring myself to write about at this moment...

I'm keeping busy at work and spending time with friends. Sleeping. Bonding with my parents and sister. Generally trying to take care of myself.