Last night I went to my office holiday party. While the people I work with are pretty mixed, racially, ethnically, and religiously, there are plenty of people who do not interact much outside their departments. Since it was still Hannukah during the party, I got a lot of Jewish Questions. This does not bother me because it's asked primarily out of ignorance and how can I have a problem with that? But it does get frustrating, at times, particularly when people don't get it. It's not a malicious thing - at all. But sometimes there are things that are so ingrained to their point of view, that being told those pov's are wrong for me and my religion is disconcerting. It takes a while to process the new information.

Lo and behold, I come home to find newredshoes has written a post: There are two messages at work here. Of course Jews are like everyone else. We’re human beings. And I don’t know of any religion that, fundamentally, isn’t about being good to each other. But Judaism is not like the majority [in the US] culture. It’s not like it in big ways and it’s not like it in subtle ways. And I am really tired of feeling like I shouldn’t speak up about this.

It's simple and lovely. And then nextian follows up with something I think is almost more important: The 'Old Testament' God is, yes, angry and arbitrary and harsh and strange. Guess what? Not only are those all words that can be applied to Jesus and the New Testament God, here are some other things the Old Testament God is

This isn't about engendering wank, please. It's about sharing bits of a culture some people don't know much about. newredshoes particular list is very similar to my own list - we're both Ashkenazi and from mostly the north of the US, so I'm not surprised. I recommend people read it. And talk about it, if you'd like - either on her post, or here in mine. I like talking about this a lot, although I can only speak for myself and my experiences.

I should also add - this post is not about Israel, politically. All comments pertaining to that will be frozen immediately. Judaism, the religion practiced around the globe, is no more centralized around Israel than all of Christianity around the Vatican.

POSTING TWICE SORRY IRONMAN TRAILER FARK YEAH!!!!!!!! requires quicktime, sorry

OH MY GOD THE TRAILER ALONE IS AMAZING! CANNOT CONCEIVE OF ACTUAL MOVIE!!!!!!!!!

Dear Jon Favreau: You are f*cking awesome and I love how you get comic books. Come play with X-Men and redeem it, yeah?

And RDJ? I did not think you could look hotter. Honest. I'm glad to be wrong.

*vibrates happily in chair*

Oh, btw, people in the 'burgh - Christmas plans, if you're interested (and, you know, aren't celebrating with your families)! Sherlock Holmes, then chinese food! All are welcome!

I, too, have the $10 off coupons for plus and free friends that want it.

Comments are screened.

And I'm needy. You knew this. Love meme!

So far I have:

- bought almost half the gifts I need to get. This means the gifts for those who are not important in my life, barring a few who are, like coworkers. Still, it's something purchased, right?

- lit candles, actually said the blessings, and made latkes. Well. Latke potato chips. Also discovered that yes, it is possible to squeeze out too much liquid from the potatoes. Especially if you have an experiment666 who takes jobs like "get as much liquid out as possible" as serious as "don't drop the baby". Maybe more seriously.

- been woken up at 10 am to be told not to go outside, because the entire sw part of Pennsylvania's shut down due to black ice. The TURNPIKE was closed for a few hours, plus several other local highways. No one was seriously injured (although someone who'd been on their way to the hospital had to get airlifted because all drivers were ordered to stay on the side for at least an hour) Local tv had collective orgasms.

- weather-proofed two windows with the plastic cheap stuff. I think it's actually make a difference as kitchen =/= ice box! \o/

- bought a new tv. that is hooked up and pretty and I haven't actually turned it on yet out of sheer neurotic fear it is awesome!!!!

- while avoiding the tv I have: biked, cleaned my oven including parts that haven't been cleaned possibly ever, baked a coffee cake (also awesome! substitution of pecans ftw!) with leftover sour cream, started a laundry, and have begun dinner. which i'm cooking. the sky is probably falling somewhere.

I feeling like saying HAHAHAHAHA really loudly because I am so terrified of turning on my (really!very!expensive!) new tv. It's hd. and pretty. and has internet and plays avi's and I should turn it on, huh? OMGPRETTY.

AHAHHAHAHAH

Fear mah naked shoulders!

( Screaming is bad for the voice, but it's good for the heart )

There are pretty snowflakes everywhere! Thank you so much <33333333333333

I did say I was going to do it this year. I offer up baby!Ladycat for those of you who whoosh right by. A little cute never hurts...

( the rules )

( My list )

So far, I thought it was Tuesday. Or Wednesday, when standing in front of the freezer wondering why I hadn't brought enough lunches for the week since there was only one left.

One one truly depressing occasion, I thought it was Friday.

Dear brain: please stop it. Or start it. Verb it. This is no longer mildly disconcerting and ignorable.

Let me tell you how much I am not looking forward to tomorrow:

thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much. I'd make it bigger, but then I'd kill people's layouts so I figured I'd stop there.

Tomorrow begins the annual month and a half of too much food I really shouldn't eat but will, because I have no will power, and dealing with my family. It is tricky enough to deal with myself, my parents, and my brother. Add traveling across the state and beyond and it turns into everybody-sulks-and/or-yells territory, made only slightly more complicated because of my mother's family.

This year we get to see my father's too. I miss them. I'd like to see them, theoretically. In actuality, I want them to stay in their own self absorbed little worlds because then they don't infect mine.

I could just carol with emotion. To Rammstein.

And the cafe in my building is closed today which means no bagel. My hips are thankful, but I was looking forward to it.

The only good news is that my library emailed me this morning to let me know that The Gathering Storm is ready for me to pick up! Things to read while hiding from people and pretending they aren't saying nice things that are actually very very mean. I just need to find an As The Wheel Turns guide. It's been a while since I read the last ten books.

eta - OH MY GOD HOUSE! WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THERE WAS A TOMLIN REFERENCE!!!! My brother calls Tomlin Omar Epps, so. Bweeeee! And stargate! Fannish hive mind FAIL!

Since a bunch of people have mentioned this to me:

If you get an email or an im from xanphibian/Green asking for money because she's been mugged in london, THIS IS A SCAM. Her email account has been hacked. She's not yet currently awake but DO NOT a) blame her for this or b) think that it's legit. It's not.

The emails and ims are persistent and annoying, but this is the new hello, I am an African Prince requesting help with a million dollars scam. Delete it, remember the premise for the next time you get an email like this (and you will; they're getting more frequent), and hope she won't have to redo all her accounts.

Eta - Don't email them back. That's one of the methods they use for scamming off of your email, too.

It's holiday card time! I know lots of people were asking for addresses but I always feel uncomfortable saying "me, me!". This despite how much I love receiving mail of any kind.

I am therefore providing my new address for them that cares. I can still receive mail at the old address, too, if you've got that in some system and don't feel like updating it. I have a cute little holder in the middle of the dining room table, filled with Sanibel seashells and my mail.

I may put this under flock. We'll see how googleable it is.

( Addy )

I'm debating doing a wishlist this year. I am so near to being flat broke it's terrifying so presents are going to be stingy and limited this year, but wishlists are always fun.

It's Friday. Soon I will have a margarks. And then later on an ironwench and a zxyp. These are good things

Hello! I am cheerful. Probably cause my boys* kicked so much freaking ass last night. It is making me gleeeeeeeeeeeeful. And cheerful. And sort of manic! WHEEEEE. Yay, football. There's an article in the local paper today from Denver, because we always feature an article about the opposing team, and wow, the bitterness is just... it feeds me. It sustains me.

We won! We didn't capitalize cause the other team lost or scrape by the skin of our teeth, we won. Definitively. Oh, my team, how I love you. And if Hines grinned any damn wider he was going to probably eclipse the stadium lights.

This weekend was also good cause I had me a taffimai, who I really miss already and is increasing my desire to move to DC (dear Library of Congress: hire me! please! I'll work hard, promise!). I always forget how pretty that city is. And what good food, god, I gained almost five pounds in three days cause of that city. I can't bring myself to mind, though.

Anyway. Anything good happen while I was gone?



* for the new people: that would be my football team, the Steelers

It turns out I dressed up after all. The others were way cuter, but as I didn't think I'd have a costume at all, it's pretty awesome. Yay for roomies!

( Glamor witch? I couldn't find the wart, but the icon is really appropriate... )

- So, I wrote something. It possibly doesn't suck. Weird. I'm starting to want to write again, which is nice. I might even have an actual story, as opposed to a vignette, bopping around.

- Still ridiculously hyper (and post happy, sorry) because of the prednisone. I love how it's making me feel health-wise, but I'd like fewer high-blood-pressure headaches. Although it's just a little after noon, and I'm about to break out the painkillers so this thing isn't gone, unfortunately. And I'm not gonna talk for an hour, at least. Voice is going :(

- Three people, two of them male, have complimented my appearance today. This could be because of my spiffy new sweater (love!), which would make me happy. I suspect it's more because I looked like death warmed over on Thursday and I didn't eat for about four days.

I am, however, rockin' this new sweater. I do look damn good today :)

- I'm going to be in DC the weekend of November 7th. My schedule is sort of up in the air, but I know I'm free Saturday night. Anybody wanna meet up, have dinner or something?

- I sort of wish I had a bucket on my head today. I'm not sure why.

- I want a new mood theme. Where do people get good mood themes?

villainny says: I miss SG:A like a burny thing. Moments like this I feel I ought to get Rodney's shoulder to bury my face in. What d'you supposed Atlantis smells like?

So I give you

( Fragments, post-series, PG-13, McShep, ~1460 words )

Who knew you could get what's basically tonsillitis without having tonsils?

It took a farking week to learn this. I have, however, convinced my mother that I really truly absolutely do not have the flu, because every person in my family heard the story of the woman with a sore throat who was misdiagnosed and died and OMG THAT COULD BE ME.

Saw a doctor I haven't seen since I was like eight or nine and he remembered me and my brother. Kinda cool.

Have much stronger drugs. Have sweats. Have mac'n'cheese very soon. I'mma gonna go be a slug until Sunday, in the hopes I can actually shout and cheer during the football game.

Yes, I know, my site is down again. The hosting company I am with is comprised of assholes who don't care about people across the pond (or at least, this is the impression I get; for all I know they're assholes to everyone). Basically: solidinternet is a company I want my money back from. Soon.

I'm in the process of moving everything to a new host and my brother is amazing and far more patient than he should be with me and got everything uploaded for me! So now I just have to change dns servers. That'll take a day or two, so for now change the 'www' to 'strangewiz' and everything'll work fine.

I realize my website is sort of terrible and terribly maintained, but at least it's there. Most of the time. Stupid solidinternet.

I am miserable and voiceless and my coworkers are being mean to me today (by trying to make me laugh which hurts like a damned knife in the throat, thanks). I was told to go home at 1, but I'm sticking it out, dammit. So.

Gakked from everyone and sundry:

The problem with journals: we all think we are so close, but really, we know nothing about each other. So ask me something you want to know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away.

Sick. Roommate sick. Roommate's gf sick.

We're awesome. And should be quarantined.

So should I buy this? I desperately need something big and plushy and warm in my room because I hate hard wood floors. This is like two hundred dollars cheaper than anything else the same size, but that makes me nervous because it is so much cheaper. Anyway... should I? Or should I concentrate on looking for a remnant?

Alternately, does anyone know where I can get big pieces of bound carpet (I don't really want a pattern, given my room) on the cheapish? That's what I really want but I have no idea where to get it. Nevermind, tesserae_ told me where to look!

And a meme, because I am miserable. Gakked from inkandchocolate:

The Feel Good Meme: One little compliment can make you feel amazing. So give me a compliment, anything in the entire world, even that my shoelaces are pretty. Put this in your journal. And once you get some comments, put that entry in a memory or tag and when you are feeling down, just go to that entry and this will remind you of how great you are.