Yup, Im still alive

Howdy,

In case you were wondering, yes I am still alive.

I had to take a break away from my blog and will continue being away for a bit longer, but I do hope and plan on coming back soon enough.

Happy Blogging y’all!

EE

Frum but Cool

Ok,

As most of you now, I wasn’t born religious. I used to be in the navy, did martial arts, scuba diving, horse back riding, basketball, volleyball, weight lifting (bodybuilding) and oh yes, motorcycle riding.

Since I became religious, it took me a whole lot of time to adjust to my new lifestyle. I would refuse to eat lettuce and a whole lot of vegetables as it was too complicated to check for bugs. (I fixed that fairly quickly though!)

But as I started hitting the books, and learning more and more about my new life, I started doing less and less of what I used to enjoy so much. Could a Frum Bais Yaacov type of girl do such a thing?

Why Is It that…

You know, it’s very interesting. I have been noticing for a while somewhat of a pattern and I was wondering what you think of it.

I noticed that when I am in a good mood, I have so many ideas for a blog. I have started so many but rarelly finished any of them. My dashboard is full of posts in a draft state that I started when I was in a good mood. But I have no will, inclination or interest in writing or complete them. None whatsoever, until…

… I am in a bad mood, tormented or thoughtful, then I could write 10 posts a day (yes I am refraining from it, no worries) I guess this is where my creativity comes in. Where the juice really flows.

In any case, I have about 5 drafts that I could complete tonight, and about 10 emails to return, so how about I go for it

cheers!

E

To Tell or Not to Tell?

I was out and about today (ok, one of my favorite expressions, which drives some people crazy, if you are one of them, my apologies) when my friend and I decided to head out to the restaurant for lunch. Yeah!

As we sat down, a second friend walked in, and asked if she could join us. Hey, three women, more gossips, every one is happy, right? Right.

As we start discussing about this and that, she (friend #2) mentions that one guy we all know, just got engaged. “Mazal Tov”, we scream out, “that’s wonderful news”. then Friend #1 and I just locked eyes and the same thought crossed our mind and we both ask at the same time “When did he meet her?” Now, I have to admit that we usually wouldn’t care SO much about the following answer, but if you are patient enough with me, you will see where I am going with this.

“Oh, its really short. They only met three weeks ago.” #1 and I just looked at each other and said “ahhh”. Now, here is where I have a dilemna. About 4 weeks ago, this guy was STILL dating another friend of mine, and had been for awhile. (Let’s call her, friend #4, still following?)

So now, I have a small dilemna. I do not believe Friend #4 is aware that this guy just got engaged and I am wondering if I should bring it up to her or not. Where I am a bit edgy, is that when they started dating, I told her straight out that he wasn’t for her and she became resentful and at some point, decided to ignore me, while she pursued this relationship. (and yes, she came back when it was over) So, there is a good part of me, that thinks I should just keep my nose out of it and not get involved but on the other hand, I think that if I were in her shoes, I would rather find out through a friend than through onlysimchas or by accident or something like that. We all live in the same city but her. So now, I really feel kind of stuck

Nu, so what do you think?
Should I tell?

What a Silly Thing to Do!

Ok, I just had a major blonde moment. I was in Ottawa over the weekend and saw some amazing Garlic on special. A whole bag of about 15 pieces for what I usually pay for 3. A Steal, and the shopping girl in me knows a good deal when she sees one, so she grabbed a bag… I really wanted to grab two, but hey! I live alone but I still like my friends, 30 heads of garlic might be a bit much, you do have to eat them pretty quickly and people don’t like you much when you eat garlic.

Yesterday, on my way back from Ottawa, I was dreaming of what I would do with my newly purchased garlic, I love garlic and it just so happened that last week (or is it two weeks ago already) when I was in Queens for Shabbos, my hostess served Roasted Garlic, my Favorite! So when I bought this garlic, I knew that I was going to make some roasted garlic, actually that was all I was dreaming of. 15 roasted heads of garlic, a dream!

So today I figured it was time to roast some (5 heads). But you will agree with me that it takes time to roast garlic and well, time was running away from me pretty quickly, and my stomach definitely knew what time it was… dinner time.

I figured I would make some popcorn, prepare and roast the garlic heads and enjoy my popcorn while preparing dinner.

Now, I just finished my popcorn… but forgot to prepare the garlic…or dinner, I’m telling you, must be blonde!

E’E

The Strangest Encounter

Here I am, just coming back from Walmart, and I am still trying to fully digest what I just experienced.

I went to Walmart, so I could get a new pedometer. Mine is so not accurate that I just gave up and decided to splurge a little and buy a decent one (which still is not very accurate but that’s another story)

I decided to take a moment and browse this crazy place for once that it wasn’t so crowded so I thought “why not!” I made a turn for one of the aisle and there I went face to face with a full Black Burka, where you could barely see the eyes behind the slit. Now, please, don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against muslims, muslimas or Islam in general. People are people, there are good and bad people, no matter what religion you are part of. I do know, understand and fully realize that not all muslims are suicide bombers. Some of my best friends are muslims, and some of my neighbors are muslims too. So, I am not here to point fingers or blame anyone.

I also understand (not that I agree with it) why Montreal or Quebec is one of the fastest growing muslim community for immigrants. I am used to seeing Hijabs or burkas and can even (sometimes) tell you from what country they are from, just by the way they wear their hijab or the way they dress. But here, what struck me as strange was that the woman who was with her, was not a muslima, nor was she dressed in a ‘modest’ fashion. But then, what really got me to turn my head and drop my jaw was when I heard them speaking. I had to take a deep, but I mean, deep breath.

Man, how can I take you seriously when…

To the little sunshine who just recently walked into my life:

How can I take you seriously when you tell me that you really like me, but …

When you and I meet, walk and talk and you show me, over and over, how much you are enjoying my company, and how much you care for me and once you come home and simply tell me “I really like you but”…

… I am not really dating anyone at the moment; but I see you online everyday, hours at the time. How can I take you seriously?

… I don’t do LDR (long distance relationship); but you just told me that you got sucked into meeting this girl who lives across the country. How can I take you seriously?

… I don’t have a passport, and you live in Canada; but I know that you could get a passport within 1 week, and if you really need it, within two days. How can I take you seriously?

… I dont know how often we could see each other; but I just told you that I am planning to be in YOUR area for the next 3 weeks or so. How can I take you seriously?

Here is what I can tell you.
I can’t!

Climbing up Mount Sinai

I have a secret and I would like to share it with you, but first, please, let me start with the beginning, a small introduction of who I am. I mean, If I am about to share a secret with you, you should know who I am, don’t you think? I am a Jewish girl who lives in Montreal. I speak Jewish, I look Jewish and I behave Jewish. Here is a little bit more about me. The reality is that yes, I am Jewish, but I am also a convert. I converted to Judaism several years ago because I believed that Hashem gave the Jews the Torah on Mount Sinai. I knew that I didn’t have to become Jewish, but I knew that the Torah held the truth, and I wanted to be part of that truth and well, to tell you the truth, I am very proud to be a Jew. The day that I finalized my conversion, was one of my happiest day.

I did have to work hard to get there, I moved across the country to be part of this new Jewish community, in a city where I didn’t know anyone. I left my job, my friends, my home and everything I knew so I could achieve this dream. A lot of people say that I have sacrificed so much to be where I am today, but I don’t think the word “sacrifice” is the right word. I have invested, I have committed myself, but sacrifice? I wouldn’t say so. It doesn’t sound right, sacrifice has a connotation, to my eyes, of direness, sadness, suffering of letting go of something you enjoy for something less. I might be wrong, but this is how I perceive the word “sacrifice”. Where in reality I feel that we are not going down but going up. From something we did enjoy to something that we do love and inspire us. It is what gives us this energy, is it right to call it “sacrifice”? I would call it more “challenge” than “sacrifice”. For sure it isn’t easy, but if you didn’t have to work on achieving something, would you appreciate it as much?

Be Weary…

I want to share an experience with you. Thank G.od it’s not my experience, but it still shocks and hurts the living out of me to experience it through my friend’s moments.

In this economic turmoil, everyone is being affected, one way or the other. My friend has been affected quite a bit. Thank G.od, she still has a roof over her head, and thanks to Tomchei Shabbos (a jewish organisation), she still has food on the table.

When some of her acquaintances (mostly men) found out that she was in financial distress, they offered to help her. “Please, let me know how much you need, I will write you a cheque right now” (check for you americans ) She, being very strongwilled and independant responded ‘Thank you, but no thank you, I will try to manage as I can’. They told her not to worry, if she was to change her mind, they would be there for her.

Toda’a Seuda

What a day!

Ok, lets start with the beginning.
I woke up this morning, having made my mind that I simply had to go for a walk. So, it’s 7am, and I’m walking in the park.

As my thoughts are drifting here and there, it suddenly hits me that we are already in the month of May, and well, Mother’s day is just around the corner. I have said it before, I am a terrible daughter. I rarelly call my parents, even more rarelly visit them. It’s not like they live far away, its only 200Km away (130miles for you Americans , so again, it just hit me that Mother’s day is just around the corner…

So again, here I am walking in the park, and I am suddenly realizing that today is May 5th, and well, May 13th is just around the corner…. Wait! where did this thought come from? and I suddenly shiver… What Jewish month are we in? Ok, bare with me here, just for a moment… It’s already amazing that I knew that we are in the month of May, let alone that I actually knew that today was May 5th.. so here I am going in my mind… “What Jewish month is it? does it really matter? When was Roch Chodesh… Why am I panicking? It can’t be passed already… ” by then, my heart is racing, and it has nothing to do with my walking. I get home, almost breathless, climb up the stairs, and sit in front of my laptop. Type in Chabad.org and search for Jewish Birthday. Look at the calendar, and think “yes, it makes sense, this is it”.