Myspace Re-Post #14: Let's Get Everybody Caught Up, Cool?

Note: Re-posted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on July 20th, 2007 (this date corresponds to my 23rd birthday).

First things first: By the time I finish this post, it will be my birthday (started at 11:53 in P.M...). So there's that...Not a big birthday person, but if you've been desparate for a reason to give me a call, here's your chance, you lucky kid!

Now then, I begin as always with a cliche excuse about being busy and blah blah and therefore I haven't blogged in months. But it is true, I've been more busy this past year than at any other time in my life, and it's been sustained and unrelenting! However, this is apropos to my post, as I have decided that I will simply list all of the major events and minor points of interest that have transpired over the past four and a half months. I'll be skimping on the details, but if you're just dying to know, hit me up with a comment or something. I always cave to popular demand...

I begin my saga on the 4th of March. Why? I have some notes about it. Also, it was erev Purim. Before getting into all of this, however, we must set the scene:

It was the second semester of my senior year in college, but I was not partying as the cliche goes. Why not? Well first of all, there was the senior thesis I was working on. Important to keep this in mind: the thesis due date was March 22. Further, it seems I've become something of a careerist - instead of using my spare time to chill &c., I continued to help out in my psych lab, apply for jobs and network with grad students and faculty. Ok, enough background! Here's the chronology:

March 4th (Sat) - Purim eve, heard megillah and then proceeded to get steadily drunker and drunker throughout the evening. Ended up not going to sleep until something ridiculous like 5 A.M.

March 5th (Sun) - woke up around noon and walked over to R. Avi's, where there was a seudah that gradually degenerated into a party - ended up staying there until night time.

March 6th (Mon) - got up at the god-forsaken hour of 8:30 A.M. to work as mashgiach at Hillel. I didn't feel well, but who does on such little sleep? Did I mention that I'd been running on a nifty prescription I picked up at the beginning of the year? I can say no more...

    Around noon I went back to my room, giving up on an optional class because I felt kinda crappy. Also I had a phone interview for a possible job lined up for the afternoon. When I got to my room, I went to sleep for a couple of hours...

    Woke up around 3 P.M., still feeling crappy. Decided to go to UHS (University Health Services) after my interview. Interview went fine, then I went down to UHS and waited around for like 45 minutes to be seen.

    After describing my symptoms, the Doc poked me in the abdomen and my eyes bulged out like bugs bunny or something - she sent me packing to the hospital. I spent about six hours in the emergency room, mostly bored off my ass, plus I was a little scared, and in a fair measure of disbelief.

    Well they decided I had appendicitis, I had an operation, etc. etc. There's another post about that (see if you can figure it out by the title...heh heh...), so I won't go into it here.

March 8th (Wed) - Didn't have to go to school. Sweet! But seriously, isn't my thesis due in three weeks? oh shit...My dad flew in and stayed with me for a few days, which was nice, but as you might expect, also somewhat awkward. Also, they gave me percocet, which was cool...

March 9th (Thu) - again, no school, but I did take care of some business. Most notably, I responded to some correspondence from a prospective employer. The position was as R.A. for Daniel Kahneman. More on that later...

March 10th (Fri) - Went to dinner at Danny & Lindsey Shoag's - they are awesome people and Lindsey is a terrific cook, even though I may be spelling her first name incorrectly. Also, they were happy to have my Dad as well. Which was interesting...

March 12th (Sun) - For the first time since Tuesday, I went back to Hillel. A man's got to work...Basically I was feeling better really quickly, but it took everyone else a while to catch up, so I was still getting sympathy comments and stupid bs for another month. sigh...

March 17th (Fri) - Under doctor's orders not to walk very much, so I decided to spend Shabbat at R. Avi's. Turns out a few other people had the same idea...One of his room mates, Shuey, wasn't in, so I got to sleep in a bed (the appendicitis plea worked like a charm here...). But his other room mate was over. Also, one of Avi's good friends was visiting from NY, and this other guy who was visiting the grad school, and Dave - well, Dave was just always there, no particular reason for it...So that made a total of six people staying in a three-bedroom. Not unusual for Avi's, although it sucked that we didn't get any girls to come over for dinner and whatnot.

    And then it started snowing, all day Friday and on into the night. I believe it was the only actual blizzard Boston had all winter! and remember, this is mid-March. So I barely left the building, and neither did most of the others, although at least they were allowed to walk some distances...

    Well there was plenty of idiotic bickering and tension. But in retrospect, it was practically the last time I got to hang out with Avi and Dave. Time was running out on us, though only one of us really knew it...

March 22nd (Thu) - Did I mention I got a week's extension on my thesis? Otherwise it wouldn't been due on this day. No matter, I still had a stats final! This was also the last official day before spring break. By this point, the stress is really getting to me, plus the random appendectomy from out of the blue really threw off my rhythm. Fortunately, Austin was staying around that weekend. This was because we had made plans to go on a journey to the centre of our minds that weekend - well that had to be called off, which sucked for both of us, but especially for him. I wasn't going home at all - I needed to friggin work!

March 26th (Mon) - I pulled an all-nighter to finish the first draft of my thesis and send it to my grad-student advisor. I got it in around 8 or 9 A.M., I think. Then I slept until 3 or 4 P.M.

March 27th (Tue) - Second straight all-nighter to implement my advisor's recommendations so that I could send the thesis on to my faculty advisor. Another 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. night of sleep...

March 28th (Wed) - Received a whole bunch of revisions from my faculty advisor, most of which I simply could not implement within 24 hours (though I did waste plenty of time trying). Note that I was barely leaving my room at this point, and anyways no one was around. They were all having "spring break" or something...

March 29th (Thu) - Submitted my thesis, a full 1/2 hour early! Proceeded to indulge myself in food, drink and a movie (The Namesake - which I quite enjoyed!).

March 30th (Fri) - I was scheduled to go down to NYC for the weekend to stay with my friend Ben for Shabbat and a few days until Pesach. But first, I had to meet someone who I had applied to work with! And I was late for this, had to take a cab, with all my luggage, but she was really nice, and I got a good feeling about the situation from her. Then I took a loooong train ride to NYC. I crashed over at the Bayit, a co-op for Jews at Columbia (I know, I know, isn't that all co-ops at Columbia?). I had spent numerous Shabbatot there during my four years of college. This was to be my last, and it was an enjoyable weekend, overall.

April 1st (Sun) - My sleep schedule was still out of whack, and I aggravated the situation by sleeping until 6 P.M. I know, I know...the sun was setting when I arose. I met up with Ivan for a drink and made plans to meet with Yossi early-ish the next morning. Basically, the plan was to not sleep.

April 2nd (Mon) - That up-all-night thing happened, and I met up with Yossi all freaked out on the no-sleep thing. I tell you man, nothing blows you out of your mind like not sleeping for 24 hours + . Then I got out to Monsey (I actually don't remember how this happened) and managed to nap a bit before sundown and seder night.

    and I spent about an hour at the local library frantically arranging my trip to Princeton for a job interview with the Kahneman lab...

    About the Seder thing, that was as crazy as ever, with my Charedi uncle leading, both of my sisters there, and the whole extended Mishpacha...However, given my condition, I actually kind of enjoyed the scene. Plus, did I mention I was done with my thesis?

Oh yeah, and it was Opening Day in baseball land...

**Whew! I didn't realize how long this would take me...well I apologize if it's as boring to read as it is to hear Al Gore speak, but I'm glad that I'm getting this down, so I will pick up the chronology right here sometime soon. Good night!**

Myspace Re-Post #13: Updates - I had Appendicitis!

Note: Re-posted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on March 15th, 2007.

Hey people. I know it's been a time. Whatever, I've got a lot of other stuff to waste my time with. but a comment by Yoel...er, Eight Days and Scared..., jolted me from my langorous inertia.

So I had Appendicitis last week. True story, I was there. Not a lot to tell, and what there is, I've already told fifteen million times, but basically I wasn't feeling good, so I went to the doc, and she poked me in this one spot. They have a name for it, but I forget. Anyways, my eyes bulged out of their sockets like Bugs Bunny being slammed by a mallet, and she sent me packing for the hospital.

Where I waited. For about five hours, all told. First the nurse checked me out. Then the resident did the same exact procedure. Then a surgeon. Then they made me wait a while to have some pictures taken. Then finally they were like, ok, we'll operate in five hours. Why don't you get some sleep?

Good question. But I didn't/don't. Sleep, that is. I was up all night, they needed to freakin anesthetize me to put me out, and then I woke up two hours later!

Here's the kicker to the whole thing, though: approximately eight days after surgery (that is, now), I feel basically normal. Cept I have this incision in my lower right abdomen and it's got some bruises around it. And they won't let me walk more than like half a mile at a time, and who knows when I'll exercise again...Seriously, I'm totally fine now, although I realize those of you reading this will probably feel that they have to say something about getting better anyways. Truth is, ""I've got to admit I'm getting better, a little better all the time...""

Nuff said about that, except that it interrupted my job hunt for next year, and pushed back my thesis due date. Good deal, right? Not really. My thesis was due the day before spring break. Now it's due in the middle of spring break. Whoopee!

But seriously, I'm pretty happy and well adjusted these days, my sarcasm aside.

And if I could figure out how to stop wasting so much time at 3:25 in the A.M., maybe I'd even get a little work done.

And maybe when this thesis is over, I'll attempt to post some sophisticated blogs. No promises. But ya never know...

Peace!

Myspace Re-Post #12: Sacramento Street

Note: Re-posted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on September 5th, 2006.

Saturday afternoon is a languorous time in West Rogers Park,
my home neighborhood,
being the Sabbath to the Orthodox Jews,
a substantial portion of the areas inhabitants.
After the traditional Sabbath-afternoon meal
(the second of three traditional mealswe love to eat!)
many of the locals of all ages and sizes,
bedecked in their Sabbath finery,
make their way to the promenade,
the road by the park, Sacramento Street.
The hidden backbone of religious enclave,
Sacramento is Jewish from Rosemont to Howard Street,
A stretch of over a mile and a half.
The residential street passes two popular parks,
The two the Jews love to flock to the most,
And on Saturday afternoon,
The residents are in evidence.

Now my sometime routine is
to traverse this boulevard
en route to a hideout above the thickness of the shtetl
where semi-religious twenty-somethings
convene and cavort.

But ah the promenade is half the fun.
For I stride in a step that is nearly a strut
Forcefully forward, though I'm in no rush,
Scrutinizing the passersby for familiar faces
Or someone interesting for other reasons.
Indeed, while flirtation can be awkward at times,
Due to the strict mores of the populace,
The body language says it all, as young things,
Coming into the primes of their vitality,
Preen and display as they stroll casually by,
For a glance and a look and then maybe another.
All the while parents, the elderly and newlyweds
Pushing the stroller of their first or second child
Stare sternly and observe,
Mouths ready at the gab,
To let everyone know what mischief is going on.

I arrive at my destination,
Find the key in the mailbox,
And at the top of the stairs
I remove my shoes.
Inside is the cool of the air conditioning
And couches and easy chairs beckon softly to me.
After all, Saturday is our day of rest
A varied crowd is strewn across the living room,
Sipping drinks of the alcoholic or non variety
And idly gossiping about friends and acquaintances.

We hide here from the glare of the outside community
Whose suffocating closeness and scrutiny often stifle
The fledgling spirits of our youthful years.
No eyes to see
Or ears to hear
Save our own.
We desperately claw for a few hours of freedom.

And later, as the sun nears its going down
I return to the promenade
though its tenor has quieted down.
Now young men and old rush for their shuls
To daven the final prayers of the Sabbath
And to eat the holy day's final meal
While somberly singing the melancholy songs
That accompany the Sabbath's departure.
Soon I will reach home and begin making plans
For my Saturday evening out on the town.
But for only a moment I savor the feeling
Of the years in this neighborhood
And the Sabbaths I have known.

Myspace Re-Post #11: The Summer of 2006

Note: Re-posted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on July 30th, 2006.

The summer of 2006 has been a summer of bikes and cars and prodigious sweat.

It has been a summer of frequent trips to Brookline for kosher meat and excitement. A summer of Saturday-night ice-cream escapades and midnight birthday celebrations. and constantly missing turns onto mislabeled streets and poring over maps in the middle of traffic.

This was the summer I spent fifteen minutes in Maine and several hours in New Hampshire. The road was clear though the sky was cloudy, and with only my thoughts for company, I covered ground on backgrounds along the ocean's front.

The summer of 2006 is a summer of long hours in a lab on the fourteenth floor of a tall white building that stands stark against the sky, where machinations take place behind closed office doors and summer interns joke and play pranks in the central control room.

This has been the summer when my spring romance ended. Much hope and talk and late-night obsession ended in a two-hour phone call across continents. And a summer when new possibilities arose, when a talkative girl with intricate curls drew my interest in spite of the mockery of my friends.

On sunny days I occasionally undertook bike missions - once to a storied arboretum and a necklace of parks. other times I sat in my apartment and labored at getting myself to work.

Somedays I rose at nine, other days at twelve. A few days I rose later. I distinctly doubt that I ever rose earlier.

This summer the Shabboses are long and mostly lazy. They begin with a frenetic Friday night, a brightly-lit communal meal at one or another of the region's apartments. The day stretches on into eternity and the reading only puts me to sleep.

This has been the summer of my first trip to suburban Long Island. The visit became an impromptu shabbaton when one of my chicago friends was stuck in new york due to cancelled flights. and the beach was the scene of unexpected sunshine and nerf-football and the ever-present waves.

This summer I have learned to keep thoughts unspoken, and to resent room mates with poor hygenic habits. The apartment politics became too involved at times to articulate, but at the end of the day, in truth, the war was one.

The summer of 2006 has been better than the summer of 2005 and other summers past. Take no offense, fair Chicago, but it was certainly time for a change. and the future stretches out, with one more month, before the end of the final summer of my college years.

Myspace Re-Post #10: Grey Day

Note: Re-posted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on June 30th, 2006.

There was an oppressive dome closing me into a narrow space today. All day.

The sky refused to rain, but I was forced to drive around and take car of my business with a perpetual cloud over my head (not the metaphorical kind).

I go through periods of disillusionment and boredom sometimes. Often. I'm in this routine where I get up, watch some TV, go to lab for a few hours, drive around aimlessly for a few hours, spend some money to make me feel productive, and then go home and spend hours watching TV.

I did finally finish a rather moving movie today. I don't suppose any of you have seen it, it's a double threat: it's old and it's in another language. Oh wait, and its a musical too. Triple threat. Nevertheless, I liked ""The Umbrellas of Cherbourg"" for its depiction of a French town in garish pastels, for the beauty of the lead actress, and for the devastating conclusion to it's central love story. Let's just say it wasn't a happy ending.

Oh, and I spend like a half hour or so at this guitar shop near my place. This guy who was working there by himself is kind of goofy, but he knows more than I do about guitars, so I asked him a bunch of questions and displayed my chops a little bit.

Will music get me through my malaise? It better, cuz I don't know what else will.

 

Myspace Re-Post #9: Guilt

Note: Re-posted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on June 26th, 2006.

Hey everyone,

Guilt is the subject of today's post. This is because I haven't posted in three months or something (too lazy to actually check...).

First I was busy with term papers and finals and getting things settled for summer. and my brother was around for a few days, &c. so my side street of the internet was closed to thru traffic.

and then, you know, momentum just kind of takes over and I'm in a not-posting rhythm and it's just a tough habit to kick, you know?

Anyways. The tumultuous semester ended - one in which I was responsible for publishing a psychology journal (came out really well), took classes that were too hard for me, finalized plans to work on an honors thesis over the summer, and spent a lot of time chasing after a girl (or thinking about doing so).

About that, I mentioned her in my last blog (yes, nearly three months ago). We went on a couple of dates, which were fun, and chatted on the phone a bunch, but she's in Israel now for the summer, so that's all on hiatus. and it's not an exclusive relationship or the like, so I'm still on the lookout (new prospect sighted this weekend!).

As of right now, I (with a small running crew of two) am caretaking the Hillel Rabbi's pad while he parties hearty in Israel. Pretty sweet deal, since I'm not paying rent really, just upkeep and maybe a small donation at the end of the summer. I'm also taking care of his car...

The main focus of my time is getting some thesis research off the ground. I work in a psych lab that's really expensive and complex, and there's like thirty people around this summer (I swear, it's busier than during the school year!). My primary contribution to the study I'm working with is to be a few scales (questionnaires to assess personality traits or attitudes, etc.), and the professor in charge keeps rejecting my submissions, so that's frustrating.

But I shall overcome.

and working on some new music, finally. because when I'm not in lab, or running back and forth to different Harvard libraries tracking down obscure journal articles and publications, I really don't have that much to do.

So anyways, maybe I'll muse about something in a day or two, to keep my rhythm down and the like. cuz I would like to have a nice, productive little blog. nothing too fancy, just my two cents (only if you put aside two cents a day, it can add up to four cents, or so I've been told...).

Hey, let me know how you're doing, if there's anyone out there (myspace claims there is, but I'm not so sure...). and...have a great day!

S

Myspace Re-Post #8: Spring Break

Note: Re-posted from my now-defunct Myspace blog, where it was originally posted on March 26th, 2006.

That's right. It probably seems late to most of you, but I finally have a little time off to welcome in the spring. I am chilling...

For reasons that are complicated and uninteresting, I'm here in Cambridge for the first weekend of my break. Well, sort of. The Rabbi here and I went over to Brandeis for Shabbat, along with another guy who floats around Hillel betimes, and a good time was had by all. 

Now I have to explain a little here. This Rabbi is no ordinary Rabbi. Some Rabbis try to make connections with the youth by acting cool and hip and chill. Well, this Rabbi's not acting. He's not trying to lure anyone, he's just being himself, and that makes for a pretty amusing picture.

You've got to imagine this slightly overweight 26-year-old with permanent stubble wearing an untucked and rumpled shirt with no jacket or tie to Friday night davening. Now you've got the picture.

So we tore the roof off over at Brandeis. Well, not exactly, but there was a fair amount of drinking and shmoozing and general good feeling. This girl I met a week ago, who hails from Sharon, MA was there for Shabbat as well. This Sharon place, I've never been there, but it sounds like a crazy place. It's rural or exurban, and apparently the population is 70 percent Jewish!

Anyways, this girl is really sweet, and I spent most of the weekend chilling with her, so we'll see where that goes.

But the cool thing about taking on Brandeis was that we had a built-in pack. The three Harvard visitors, two of our hosts, one of our hosts' girlfriend and this girl from Sharon were all generally moving in the same pack, so we had some serious energy going.

mmm. Also lately been having a bit of a flurry of guitar creativity. I just wrote a Jewish song - melody for the ""Ani Maamin"" regarding T'chiyat Hameitim. I think it's kind of a silly, funny idea, but really, why does T'chiyat Hameitim always get shafted in favor of Mashiach? Coming next - the Ani Maamin regarding G-d not having a corporeal body...

I just finished watching ""Hoop Dreams."" It took me like a week, because I watched an hour here and there between homework, and it's a LONG movie. But really good - it's a documentary, but about the most gripping doc I've ever seen. You follow the high school basketball careers of two kids with lots of talent but also lots of issues to deal with. A real rush of getting on someone else's wavelength.

Last week - agh! Glad that one's over. I had one in-class midterm, one take-home midterm, and right in between them my good friend Yossi came visiting on HIS spring break.

Which was cool, I just ended up staying up all night Wednesday night finishing the take-home, and then promptly slept through Thursday.

But that's all in the past, and I'm sailing for now - for the next week. Chicagoans watch out - I'm coming for ya! Flying in on Monday...

SSB