Smile and Nod

Yes, well, I apologize for not having posted in so long, but I've had difficulties thinking of ideas. Yes, I know that sounds strange considering I used to have to pace my updates, but even so, I do have a calculus exam approaching, and more importantly, Pesach is almost upon us.

This past Shabbos I went to a Shabbos Hagadol shiur, and while it was interesting to hear the speaker dramatize the exodus from Egypt, she mentioned one piece of information that I really wanted to share. She defined happiness as having a connection to a higher being that utilizes all aspects of your life in serving a higher purpose, which brings you to happiness. This of course is referring to the serving of Hashem with every aspect of our lives. If we are able to keep this in mind we can keep Amalek at bay. If we don't try to utilize our lives to serve Hashem, every aspect of our life, from mundane aspects such as sleeping and eating to other aspects of avodat Hashem, then we may fall into depression and have a yeridah, which is what Amalek wants, because in a state of depression we cannot properly serve Hashem or attain happiness. The point? The point here is that every one of us can attain happiness if we recognize that Hashem has given us the opportunity to serve him Him, and his mitzvoth can serve as the building blocks for incomprehensible happiness.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sarah Rutti for giving me the idea to write a short post on Pesach. :D Thank you!

Striking the Funny Bone

In lieu of a proper post here is a sign that I found on my friends facebook page. I suppose my firewall was blocking something on her page and this is what I saw:


He he, I have been rejected. LOL. Have a good one!

Pruim!

I am in such a strange mood.... YES!! Purim, also known, starting just now, as the holiday of Pruim (because I'm slap happy and having difficulty spelling), is coming! HIP HIP HURRAY!

And so, I wish you all a very happy holiday. I hope a you all have as much fun as I myself am curranyl haibnfg. LOL. I can longer no spell... and I'm not even drunk. Hmm... maybel sleep would be beneficial at this point.,, G''d night.

LOL.

Freilichen Purin.

Sorry

OK, so, I fell off the face of the face of the planet. Here is some appeasement, a comic strip that I found funny. :D

Behold the feather bed!

Here is a picture of my new featherbed when it's not covered by a sheet. Enjoy!

Who Would've Thunk It?

This is a cute comic, but just think about how vast our 1 galaxy is. Now, think about how large the local group is, and then think about the fact that the universe is infinite. And who are we? You and I are the little dot that isn't visible in the comic above. Yet, Hashem loves us. Hashem created us and continually watches over us, and this entire universe was created for each of us to feel loved, and for G-d to shower his infinite love and greatness upon us. Do you feel loved? I sure do!

On the heels of change

Now that I've decided to have a change in attitude, let's take a look at all the fun new items I've purchased as of late! Yes Sarah Rutti, these are for you since you made that very special request. Enjoy!

First things first, GLASSES!!!

Here they are folks, my new glasses. They're kinda fun and funky, yet sophisticated and intellectual. I'm starting to really enjoy them, although I'm still getting used to the new look. Note the cool aquamarine circles and red temples. Behind the black frames, instead of having black, there is more aquamarine, so if you look at the glasses, even on a slight angle, you can see the blue showing. The temples are red and black stripes, which create a muted red color.

Now, the next fun item, my new featherbed! I'm actually very pleased with this purchase since I'm sleeping SO much better these days, baruch Hashem! Without the feather bed, or oversized comforter, my bed was REALLY uncomfortable. As you can tell, it looks like my bed has a mini mattress atop my regular mattress.


The part that looks kind of tucked under is actually the featherbed. When it's not covered nicely, it is actually a few inches taller. LOL. SO COMFY!!

Lastly, here is the new phone set that I purchased on sale. HURRAY!!!! (My old phone was really on the fritz.) This is a set, so I put the hand held phone on my desk/kitchen table, and I put the portable phone next to my bed. Now I have no excuses for missing calls. I have to do is roll out of bed and pick it up.


Lastly, I would like to thank G-d who enabled me to make enough money to cover these purchases. THANK YOU!!!

:D

Change of Attitude

Sarah Rutti is absolutely right, I need a change of attitude. Here it is!


OK, get to it! I have decided to pro-actively make my work life better. It will not be easy, and things will be messy before they get better, but im yirtzeh Hashem, I am going to try and take steps that will hopefully improve things. Please wish me luck. Daven for me. I could certainly use the help.

P.S. LOL. Doesn't looking at this Meez make you smile. I was laughing when I first made it. Is that a sufficient attitude change Sarah Rutti? :D

This is PRECISELY how I've been feeling

This is me at work trying to deal with annoying people. GAH! OK, now I have to run to work because I completely overslept. Ooops. OK, at least the annoying people are being nice about me oversleeping. He he. Have a good Shabbos.

It's been a while

Sorry to all of my avid readers. I do apologize about the fact that I have not posted in a while. So, in order to placate you I have decided to share a favorite link of mine. For those of you who enjoy dry humor, or puns, this is right up your alley:

The Very Best of British

Anywho, have a good one!

WV08SR 004

Winter Vacation 08 Status Report 004

Time: 1730hrs
Objective: Attend New York Philharmonic on Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Status: Mission Accomplished


SM and I had a fabulous time, sitting in row O as you can tell, which is indeed only 15 rows away from the stage. AH!!! Fabulous I tell you, simply splendiferous. Anyways, I should probably amend that by saying that the Piano Concerty by Schumann wasn't that great, but Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 in A major was very enjoyable. Anyways, I hope to go back again soon since now I know I can get great tickets for such an affordable price... yay!

Here, take a look at Lincoln Center in the dark:

(This is me in front of the fountain in Lincoln Center square)

Alright then, more exciting adventures to be discussed shortly. Have a great weekend!

WV08SR 003

WINTER VACATION '08 STATUS REPORT 003

Time: 22:17hrs
Objective: Meet Australian friend for dinner.
Status: Mission Accomplished
Report: Ta da! Look who accomplished their last mission. Me sir!

To start at the beginning, I went to work this morning, arrived 5 minutes early, only took a 35min lunch break, and worked 1 hr late. Despite my grueling day I davened both shachris and mincha, AND I brought and ate my own lunch. The only reason I went over my $10 a day food budget was because I ate out with a friend which was a special occassion. Tomorrow should also prove to be an exciting day. Check back within the next few days for more exciting vacation updates!

Come one, come all, and live vicariously through my exploits - Yes Sir!!!

WV08SR 002

"Report Soldier!"

Winter Vacation '08 Status Report 002

Day: Sunday
Time: 21:00hrs-00:00hrs
Objective: Update Story Blog
Status: Mission Accomplished
Report: It was an arduous task, but someone had to do it. Check out the update and enjoy!

Day: Monday
Time: 20:22hrs
Objective: Visit MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and MAD (Museum of Arts and Design)
Status: Mission Failed
Report: Ahhh!!!! Don't think of me that way! I didn't try very hard to meet this objective. I slept in until 11:00hrs. By the time I had pulled myself together I decided that I could only visit a modern art museum with a friend who would make fun of the "art" with me. Instead, I spent the entire day taking care of various financial stuff etc. Yeah! The day might sound wasted to others, but I had a very productive afternoon overall. Stay tuned for my special report that should surface later tonight or tomorrow.

"FINISHED REPORTING SIR!"

Winter Vacation '08 - Status Report 001

Time: 14:45hrs
Objective: Visit Water Exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History
Status: Mission Accomplished

Report: My vacation has started off well, with the advent of only a few minor setbacks, such as international phone calls that made me a little late. Despite these obstacles I arrived at the museum by 11:30hrs in time to view the Aquatic Exhibit as well as the special Water exhibit.

Highlights, you ask? The best part was viewing a life sized model of a Blue Whale. It spanned the entire ceiling and was at least 60ft long. I found it awe inspiring, in fact, the entire Aquatic Exhibit was fascinating, and truly shows the power and prestige of G-d. Man believes the world to be in his small hands, but how can one be so arrogant and naive in the face of true majesty?!? Look at the complex ecosystems in the chartered oceans, which is only 5% of the worlds oceans by the way. When man create even a fraction of G-d's creations, then I'll sit down and discuss the greatness of man.

Anyways, after my adventures in the museum, I rushed to the Subway, randomly met an acquaintance from Israel, and indeed I arrived at work by 14:05, my target time, only to discover that the building is closed until 16:00hrs. Figures. OK. Anyhow, I've now enjoyed a delicious lunch in the comfort of my own home, and I have plans to have much fun starting again later tonight and tomorrow. Stay tuned for further reports!

SIR, YES SIR!

Oh yeah... Congrats to me!

Yes, well, I forgot to mention that I finished the spring semester. YAY!!!! My last two finals were on Thursday night, and I am super psyched to be finished.

Okey dokey. So, what will I be doing my vacation? Having fun of course! YES, that's right folks, here are the fun things I plan on doing.

1. Special exhibit at the Natural History Musuem.
2. Museum of Modern Art
3. Museum of Arts and Design
4. NY Philharmonic concert at the Lincoln Center (also B&N is right next door, so I'll stop in of course!)

OK, that's about 3 days worth of activities and I still have a few free weekday nights and one Sunday available to have fun, so I'll be making more plans. Anywho, I'll keep you updated!

Shavuah Tov!

Cosmic Collisions

Here, enjoy some brain-food:

Bellow is a link to a cool, short, film showing what happens when galaxies (starting with our own) collides with other galaxies.

http://amnh.org/sciencebulletins/?sid=a.v.collisions.20050909

A Little Tired

Yeah, I've been up since about 5:40am. I tried to go back to sleep, but my body, or I should say, my mind, would not let that be. So, I woke up happy and chipper, I davened, went to work, fought with a credit collector agency, and now I'm home from work early so I can get some sleep... or anyways I hope to get some sleep. OK, too tired to think much anymore, so off I go!

Something More Palatable

OK, so, my posts have been getting a little long, and I know that the vast majority of my fandom (which mostly alludes to my sole, or at least main, reader Sarah Rutti) are back in school. Thus, this post will be short and sweet.

(A) Don't forget to read my post about Sunday (it's bellow this post). (B) Yeah, that's about it. Have a truly splendiferous day!

Now, to end in true SEP style, here is a picture for your enjoyment:

More Reading, HURRAY!

Look what I found! It's another story set in the Ender universe. Yeah!!! I found this while at Barnes and Noble today. I decided that I wanted to read it without paying the $12.95 cover price, so I bought a soda and sat in the cafe for two hours reading. LOL. I actually had a really nice time, and I'm glad the book is short, because otherwise I would have had to leave it there and then ordered it from the library. Yes, so, if you too are interested in reading more Ender books, try A War of Gifts, and First Meetings in Ender's Universe. I can't guarantee that you'll like them, but I did, so I suggest you give it a try in your "free" time. :D

Oh yeah, and as an afterthought, I took my physics final today and it went fine. I know for sure that I got one question wrong, but overall I did well, so I kinda don't care. Allow me to rephrase that. Ever since I found out that this was not a Physics for major's course, I've been a little bummed out; however, since I had to finish the class, I did as well as I could. Despite my best, and I do mean my very best efforts, the teacher is an annoying perfectionist that doesn't even recognize the effort or quality of one's work, believes that there is no such thing as perfection, and therefore is never satisfied with your work (something is always wrong you see), so I've given up on the teacher, and Physics to a certain extent. At this point, I'm just happy to be done with the class, and we'll see if I bother with any other Physics classes...

So, on a happier note, I had a very nice afternoon, yes I did. I went to B&N, then I walked around Manhattan, had dinner at Kosher Delight, and afterwards I walked to Bryant park and watched the ice skaters. Also, in the park I looked at this huge statue of William Cullen Bryant, the man who the park is named after, and I was very taken with the inscription on the base. It read as follows:

YET LET NO EMPTY GUST
OF PASSION FIND AN UTTERANCE IN THY LAY,
A BLAST THAT WHIRLS THE DUST
ALONG THE HOWLING STREET AND DIES AWAY;
BUT FEELINGS OF CALM POWER THY MIGHTY SWEEP.
LIKE CURRENTS JOURNEYING THROUGH THE MINDLESS DEEP.

OK, another long post. Sorry SR. Have a good day one and all! :D

One Down, Others To Go

In the true spirit of Finals I've read some of the books which I constantly take out of the library. I managed to finish 4 mangas, 1 short story book by Orson Scott Card, and Animal Farm mostly in the past 3 days.

First of all, I recommend the book "First Meetings" by Orson Scott Card, to anyone interested in the Ender series, which he has written. This is a very well written book that is supposedly for young adults/children. I find that amusing considering the content and how it's written. There are even a few strange pictures to try and make it a teenager book, but his ender series was never really for children. Oh well. Despite the fact that there are pictures and that this book is located in the young adult section, it is worth your time and effort to read it. I found it quite enjoyable.

Now, in terms of Animal Farm, I found George Orwell's chilling description of a Utopian society gone awry fascinating. Perhaps most chilling is his depiction of the manipulation of "lower animals." At first, all animals are treated equal, outwardly at least. However, over time, through intimidation and cleverness, the pigs become tyrannical leaders that eventually enslave and abuse their fellow animals in a worse manner than the original human owners. It's really a very disturbing tale, but I also found it thought provoking.

The most important theme, which I believe needs to be addressed, is the fact that the animals believed the lies of their leaders, the pigs. Of course, the lies were told slowly and carefully at first, but over time, an evolution took place. After a few years, the lies seem obvious to the reader who remembers and sees the entire picture, yet the animals are no longer capable of viewing reality due to the fear and terror that pervades the "Utopian" Animal Farm society.

While some commentators believe Animal Farm to be far-fetched and dated, I do not believe that to be the case at all. Who are the tyrannical leaders of our day and age? Ironically, it is the press, the free press I should note. Indeed, I do not think the press is free at all. The main owners and leaders of the free press are rarely interested in truth and intellectual honesty. America is still relatively racist, narrow minded, and interested in power. A prime example is the press' reign against Israel. Who suffers? The Palestinians of course! But what if there is proof to the contrary? Well, if you look in the back of the newspaper in small print, perhaps you'll find that article, but otherwise that news might as well not exist. A similar example stands before us in terms of our current President. Did you not notice that Bush has been marked for death by the press? And oh how quickly he is dying...

I certainly believe that the intellectual dishonesty of the press is readily visible in their articles that seem to be straightforward, but actually tout one sided arguments that effectively brainwash America. And THAT my friends is a scary thing. As it is, Americans seem to have difficulty thinking for themselves. Now, why would that be? In fact, why are Americans getting stupider?

These are all topics that require more thought and time, but for now, let us simply remember, that those who place all of their beliefs and trust in corrupt institutions suffer more that one can imagine. Animal Farm might only be a fictional tale, but woe to the country that does not vigilantly supervise their current leaders, for any government, and I truly do mean any, can become driven by tyrannical despots. Fear my friends, for we live in scary times.

On that happy note, have a great week! :D

Finals Time!

Yes, that's right folks, finals are here!!! Ooyeah! I can't wait for this semester to end. Now, what does photobucket have to say on the matter?

Surprisingly little worth looking at. Here are the highlights:







And, my personal favorite, and most appropriate considering my first final is physics...



Have a good one! (I'm off to study... NO, for real!)

Let's Write

Dear Loyal Readers (which in all truth and sincerity refers mostly to my good friend Sarah Rutti),

I have just come across a boon in our writing instruction treasure chest. Yes! You've guessed it! (Or, at least I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.) I found an article written by an author whose works I enjoy. Interested in how an author writes his books? Me too! Here is a link to "the Creative Life Cycles" of a Garth Nix novel. I'll be honest. I really did find this interesting (and inspirational), therefore I suggest that all my friends read this and write happily forever more. Let me know what you think.

Have a splendiferous day!

Now it is the beginning...

Bwa ha ha ha! Finals are beginning, finally. Baruch Hashem. I can't wait for this semester to end.

So, I decided that I was bored with the reading materials that I have, so I went to the library and took out a load of books that are generally required reading in some schools. So much fun! Here is my new reading list:

"A Modest Proposal And Other Satires" by Jonathan Swift
"Animal Farm" by George Orwell
"Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand
"The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien
"The Scarlet Pimpernel" by Baroness Orczy

He he... Happy reading trails to me. I hope you have as good a day as I do...

Shopping Is Much Fun

Yes, today I joined the ranks of American consumers who spent billions of dollars this holiday season. Of course, the reason being that I was off of work and simply could not resist the urge to take advantage of the outrageous sales. Ah, life is good, no? Anyways, thank G-d I was fortunate to purchase a stunning ring, which is pictured above. Unfortunately, the diamonds are so prismatic that it's difficult to get a clear picture of the ring. Shame. :D Anyways, hopefully you get an idea of what the ring looks like above. Yay! Okey dokey. Have a good night!