Shana Tova, with guest

[bironic]

A happy, healthy, sweet and successful new year to all of you who are celebrating -- and all who aren't, anyway.

Turns out it was a good idea to clean everything, because the next day I received sudden and happy news that roga would be visiting for the holiday. We ended up going to Rosh Hashanah eve and morning services together at a temple neither of us had visited before, which were very pretty as high holiday services tend to be. It was nice to have a companion, not to mention a companion whose simple presence served as a constant reminder that when we recite these prayers, it's not just memorized sounds the way they taught it to us in Hebrew school, it's a living language. The rabbi totally glomped on to her after services, too. I guess it was a novelty to have a direct import from Israel.

As opposed to previous years, this time when I checked, two of my favorite prayers/songs were on YouTube: the sweet, haunting version of a prayer called R'tzei that's done on the high holidays -- oh, those last few piano chords; and Sim Shalom, sung by a full youth choir and two soloists, one of whom I like very much and who appears to be the lovechild of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Blair Sandburg. Here's a segment of Sim Shalom again, this time with an adult choir, because I think it's really cool that Jewish music can be done by choirs. I hope you'll give them a listen. I think they're beautiful, and in the youth choir one, you can see how thrilled the conductor is with the performance when he finishes them up.

Anyway. roga and I lazed around a bit, met up with deelaundry, hosted alpheratz for an evening, visited marag (note to self: find and read her Wolverine baby-sitting story), took a quick tour of my workplace, ate at a tasty kosher-style deli, and trekked over to the zoo, where highlights included a komodo dragon, comb jellyfish, baby gorilla, elephant shrews, scarlet ibises, and goats on a playground. Seemingly half the animals there were napping or absent, and the zoo was big and hilly and not ideally laid out, but it was nonetheless quite fun to play games like "Track down the panda/lemurs/otters/elephant" and "Figure out why the antelopes are in the paddock next to the cheetahs'" and to marvel at the Jurassic Park-like fences around the larger animal enclosures. roga will surely post a few hundred of the excellent photos she took. She also spent a day wandering around the Mall while I was at work.

This visit, two or three people asked if we were sisters. That never fails to please me.

Last night we made it across the city to Union Station by car almost without error -- curse you, Columbus Circle! -- but minutes too late for the desired train; so we ventured over to near the Capitol Building, where (September 11?) fireworks were happening over a hill, and then I deserted her and her camera in favor of driving home to lie very still in bed with a headache and fall asleep to Psych.

And now here I am on a rainy morning, sans houseguest* but plus good memories and a few story ideas.

*Er, until this evening, when the originally planned non-fannish one arrives for a night.

Comments

[ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com]

I am sorry to have missed Roga! But it sounds like a lovely time.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

It was - and your trip sounds like it's been, too. Looking forward to hearing about it.

[zulu.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a wonderful way to spend the new year! I hope yours is a happy one.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Thanks -- you, too. ♥

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

How lovely! I'm glad y'all got to spend the holiday together.

I wish I knew how to teach Hebrew school in such a way that it becomes clear to the kids that Hebrew is a living (and beautiful!) language and that our prayerbook is actually an anthology of surprisingly complex and interesting poetry, not just rote syllables to mutter along with everyone else.

Shanah tovah to you, hon!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

It's tough when you have a certain number of weeks to learn a set of prayers and there isn't an equivalent of an honors section, and so many students are learning for a particular end -- bar/bat mitzvahs. I mean, I was aware that it's a language, of course, but not able to understand it that way; I was playing catch-up myself after years of no religious/language education, and the curriculum wasn't designed to teach us what the Hebrew words were doing; only that these were the letters and vowels and this was how to read them and this was the translation of the whole prayer, not what each word meant and how the sentences were strung together. It's too bad, because you know I love language.

Happy new year to you & yours. You were missed here, but it's wonderful to gather that your week has been going well.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

I am in awe of roga. She dropped by my workplace to see me the other day when she was in my town, and she is just so amazing in all ways!

I have however (so far) sucessfully resisted the Call of the Bandom. *giggles*

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I've promised to try at least a few of the five bandom stories she recently recced. Some of the summaries are promising.... But -- famous last words though I know they are -- I suspect I'll just appreciate having another fandom in which to read kinks I like, and won't get sucked in to the fandom itself.

she is just so amazing in all ways!

Ya! I feel so inarticulate when we have conversations.

[roga.livejournal.com]

Pffft, you're the one who feels inarticulate? I probably feel the same next to you if not more. I wish I had a mini you in my purse to remind me of which verbs I'm really looking for all the time. ("Defiantly?" "YES!")

[roga.livejournal.com]

...and defiantly isn't even a verb /o\

[roga.livejournal.com]

SO FAR. Did I promise you links? I'm sure I did, and if I didn't follow through that is TOTALLY MY BAD (I'm sure you lost sleep over it) and ANYWAY HERE: 1. To lure you in, 5 recs for fics with really really awesome porn/kinks in them, just READ THE RECS OKAY that is all I ask (and consider reading the fics themselves. That too.) And 2. Deep Space 9 AU/fusion! (Come on, you know you want to...)

(also ♥!)

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

AIEE! *attempts to hide from the beautiful fascinating woman waving a new fandom at me*

[roga.livejournal.com]

Do not resist the pulllll...

[l-eremita.livejournal.com]

Happy New Year to you!

Sounds like you have had a lovely weekend. I did too -- reading Tim Gunn's new book. I think I like him even more than I did before! What a sweetheart.

P.S. Thanks for the postcard! You're a sweetheart too!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Ooh, he has a book? Does it contain helpful fashion tips? I am way behind on Tim Gunn/Project Runway news.

ETA that you are welcome, of course!

[l-eremita.livejournal.com]

He does have a previous book (also excellent) with fashion tips -- A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style (http://www.amazon.com/Tim-Gunn-Guide-Quality-Taste/dp/0810992841/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284314044&sr=8-3).

The new one is part memoir, part etiquette -- Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work (http://www.amazon.com/Gunns-Golden-Rules-Little-Lessons/dp/1439176566/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284314164&sr=8-1).

Er, you ARE also a Tim Gunn fan, right? I always thought so, but perhaps I am totally confused!*

*not the first time this has happened.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Good morning! Mr. L is gone for the day and I am unmotivated to do anything. : (

[bironic.livejournal.com]

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[roga.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure we were asked if we were sisters when you were in Israel too! And I mean, look, my dad and your mom went to high school together, DON'T THINK I HAVE NOT WONDERED (possibly I read too many harlequin AUs).

It appears that they were 9/11 fireworks! So weird. But I managed to get some nice Capitol Building photos, so thank you for that :-)

Because it will take me a while probably to actually post photos, have some samples for now:

























(sorry for thank last one :-))

Also thank you for being such an awesome host and it was really fun to see you again! ♥♥♥

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Ha. Oh, but I did love those macaques. And the ibis. And the Capitol came out gorgeously.

Sorry to lose you across the ocean again. ♥

[bell]

Happy new year! ♥

[synn.livejournal.com]

Aww, baby elephant shrews! And jellyfish are always cool in a creepy sort of way.
btw, did you see this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0I-3wkH37w&NR=1
? It's about giant jellyfish off the coast of japan and how they're trying to make use of them. The first images are fascinating. although there's a part that was a little traumatizing to me. (also, I didn't watch it with the sound on, so I have no idea what that's like).

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Awesome jellyfish! And glad you had such a lovely New Year *g*