I.C.U. sounds like a kid's game

I was "tagged" by survivor to do 5 RAK's over two days. RAK's is a concept started by Yiddishe Mama. Instead of focusing on all of them (too many? not enough?) I'll focus on one. MyShan's friend (Michal Sharona Bat Rachel Rut) is in the hospital, shes been there since Yom Haatzmaut. She was in a motorcycle accident, she went into a coma, she came out of the coma but she lost all feeling from neck down. So far she's regained some feelings in her finger. Her mother and sister flew in from Montreal and have barely left the hospital since they arrived. So we were asked to come watch her so her mother and sister could go eat lunch somewhere and have a somewhat normal Shabbat. We went to the hospital around 11 and stayed there til around 2:30. The entire time we were there the girl was sleeping so we didnt have so much to do. I was never in an ICU before and it was quite interesting. They had some oversized chairs, so we were relaxing, and I was watching the line on the machine, comparing Michals to the lady in the next bed over. I dont know which line was the important one, but Michal was winning on all 3. Then the nurses told us the comfortable chairs are only for patients, we had to sit on the regular chairs. I always thought an ICU would have doctors running around yelling, but it was very quiet. The nurses were circulating, every once in awhile throwing us out while they did stuff. I read The Chosen by Chaim Potok for most of the day (how does that book end? Does the chassidishe kid become an apikores and the other kid become a rabbi?) and then when her mom came back we walked to my in laws for a late late lunch. All in all, it was a very fulfilling afternoon.
And now, to keep the game going, I tag
shuandnat
twoares
airtime

A Dose of Dat

This week Torah portion starts off with a blessing and fades into a long curse. The blessing and curse are as I see it primarily cut into two pieces, food and war. if were good we'll have rain and the fields will grow, etc, we will live in peace, without fear, 5 of us will chase 100 of them, etc. If we're bad the opposite will happen. Nothing will grow, we will be so hungry we will eat our kids, etc, we will run from fear when no one is chasing us, we will be attacked by the sword, etc. What defines good and bad? If we walk in the stautes (Chukim) and if we guard the commandments (mitzvot). If we look around today, we are very blessed with food. Our water supply has risen to normal levels. We dont seem to have any problem with that (I dont mean individual people that are starving, I mean on a national level). In terms of peace, though, we aren't doing well. We have occasions where 5 of us chase 100 of them, but we still live in fear. Even if we dont let it take us over, it is always there. We have our moments where we run from fear, yet no one is chasing us (Think of all the times people get off a bus cuz someone dark with a bag gets on, or clearing streets because of a chefetz chasud, etc) The biggest curse in terms of peace is getting kicked out of our land (i.e. disengagement). It seems we're doing one thing right and one thing wrong. So what are these statutes and commandments? Rashi says statutes is learning Torah and commandments are following it. If thats the case, on a national level, we're not doing any of it. I read somewhere recently how Israel has a very high level of volunteers. Maybe thats it. I've stood at almost every junction in this country and people have pulled over to take me places. Rarely does a lady have to take a stroller up steps without someone helping. We are constantly helping, even when its not wanted (Sri Lanka). Perhaps one is doing the actual mitzvot, praying, learning, and the other is middot. Perhaps.

Orange

I feel the need to write, but I cant think of what to write about it. Family life is amazing, today is our six month anniversary!!! I love you honey :-) School is depressing. I went all semester to classes, now that test time is coming, I have to actually learn all the material. Not fun to talk about. So instead I'll go back to a favorite topic-getting out of Gaza. Firstly, why orange?? For those who arent here, you cant walk down a street without seeing cars and backpacks all with an orange ribbon. Jerusalem is obviously colored orange, what with it being a strong right wing city, but I was in Tel Aviv yesterday (awesome day at the beach!!) and many of the cars there were oranged. Its gotten to the point where you see a construction worker in his orange vest and you think "another supporter of Gush Katif". Anways, yesterday I took the plunge. I went to a "students against disengagement" rally and bought a tshirt and 2 ribbons. I never liked the Tshirts everone wears that says "This is my house", as if they are all from Gaza. My house is in Jerusalem. But I am definitely a student against disengagement, and it was only 15 shekel (approx. $3.50). i dont know if Id wear the shirt, but atleast I own it. The rally itself was intersting. A bunch of students have gone on hunger strikes against disengagement. Its been going for 10 days. Every day more students join, they drink but do not eat. I dont get how thats going to help, but at least theyre doing something.
It took me a long time to decide my stance on disengagement. I still not too set. I'm not against the whole concept of giving away land, as long as theres a positive gain from it. But whats the positive gain here? On the other hand, Im also against forcing soldiers to protect an area with such a high risk. Theres got to be another alternative, but noone is offering it. I dont mean alternatives like expelling all Arabs which is racist and impractical. I mean some sort of solution that we keep our land that was rightly won in battle, they have some sort of economic solution that keeps them busy and happy, and everyone wins. Even if they have a state of their own, in the way Puerto Rico is independent yet owned by America. Its not as if in Biblical times only Jews lived here. There have always been other nations living with us, fighting against us. Til that solution is found, I'll be slightly against disengagement but not actively. At least not yet.

The Silence That Remains

Eurovision was last night. For those who dont know Eurovision is a huge thing on this side of the world, all the European (incl Israel) countries compete in singing, and they narrow it down to the top 24 countries. Then, each singer sings, and at the end of them all, the people living in any of the partacipating countries (even the ones that lost in the semifinals) get to vote on which song they liked best. You vote by text messaging a certain number which was the best, and you cant vote for your home country. Theres 10 minutes to vote after all the songs. Then they tally up the score. The winner has the competition in their country the following year. Israel won one year, thanks to Dana International (a transvestite[its amazing who is chosen to represent the Holy Land]). This year our singer was Shiri Maimon. She became famous in 2003 when she came in second on Kochav Nolad (something like American Idol). We thought her song was great, her only problem was she didnt make a whole production like some of the others who used dancers and props. She just stood and sang beautifully. In the end, I voted for Latvia, and MyShan voted for Greece. Then we had to sit while each country went through how many points they gave to the other countries. That part takes longer then the actual singing.
In the end, it was:

Greece 230 points (awesome song and show)
Malta 192 (fat lady who had a great voice
Romania 158 (dont remember but my m-in-law voted for them)
Israel 154 (we only didnt win cuz of all those anti-semites out there!!)
Latvia 153, ( I thought they were the best)

Germany came in last with 4 points. France came in 2nd to last with 11 points, 5 of those points they got from Israel, all of them probably because their singer was Jewish. We were going to vote for her but the song was so bad plus she was representing France.

The Real Succesor

Few people can honestly say they dont enjoy the true music of the 70s. GnR, Zeppelin, Queen, The Doors, The Who, (and of course Stillwater) the list never ends. You dont have to love the whole genre, but theres a song from then that sounds like it was written for you, maybe you just havent found it yet. These were people who didnt care about the money, it was about the music. Their songs had meaning (even if the meaning was lost cuz they were so high they didnt understand it themselves), and they had soul. "Listen to Tommy (The Who) with a candle burning and you can see your future". No other music has that sort of inspiration.
Now, look at the music we have today. That was 70s rock and roll. Look at todays rock and roll. Nine Inch Nails, Linkin Park, Nirvana. Remember the Weird Al parody from Nirvana "Smells like Teen Spirit"?
Now I'm mumblin and Im screamin
And I dont know what I'm singin
Crank the volume, ears are bleedin
I still dont know what Im singin
Were so loud and incoherent
Boy, this oughta bug your parentsYeah

That pretty much sums up current rock. A lot of angry (angry? what about the original peace loving rock stars?? Bowie wasnt angry!) kids making a lot of noise to piss their parents off. A few drums, electric guitars, a voice that can carry over all that noise (or not), youve got a rock band! It does have its purpose, if you want to talk without the FBI listening, but thats about it.
Then theres pop. Pop has nothing to do with music anymore, it is entirely about the video. Hot girls (Brittany, Christina, Mandy, depending on your taste) or boys (N Sync, Backstreet Boys, Rickie Martin, depending on your taste) taking off their clothes while saying some inane line over and over again (think "Hit Me Baby one more Time". What message is she conveying?!?) Some of them do have redeeming qualities, personally I'm a fan of Pink telling it straight, and for some inexplicable reason I like Avril. Maria Carey has a wonderful voice. Madonna has managed to stay in music forever, which is impressive in itself. But as a genre as a whole, its more about how they are portrayed on video, about their dolls and posters then it is about the music. It does have its place, in dance clubs and parties, but its not good listening.
Next is rap. I like rap. It always gets me pumped up, Eminem, Tupac, telling it like it is. Ludacris telling you the best places to get some. Snoop Dogg, just being Snoop Dogg. But then you have to weed through songs like 50 cent, just cuz lollipop rhymes with candyshop, you dont have to make a rap about it. Most rap is more about the cars and bitches and finding random words that rhyme together. The Ying Yang twins is on the top of the charts. i read their lyrics, and all I can say is, somethings are supposed to stay in the bedroom. Theyve crossed the line from funny inuendo to porno music. But I'm off track here, rap came from the ghetto, at its heyday was a beautiful art and talent, full of true meaning, but now it has been taken over by pop and is in its death throttle. Its turned into being all about the videos, and how many strippers can fit on the screen.
This now brings me to the main point. country music. its pure, its intelligible, it has meaning. Although it flirts with pop (think Shania or Faith Hill), it mainly keeps to itself. Although their views are the opposite of peace loving 70s music(South Park, "I'm a little bit of country), the feeling is the same. Music you can sit down and enjoy, that you can relate to. It doent give you a headache. And its the true succesor to the 70s music we love.

If You're Arrested, Youve Won

Yesterday was "block the roads for gush katif" day. The official sign said, "Dear Driver, If they are going to block Gush Katif, then everything will be blocked." On my way home from school I saw about 200 Gush Katifies standing on the side of the road. Luckily, they hadnt blocked the road yet. We got to Jerusalem, and traffic came to a standstill. It took about 20 minutes for what usually takes less then 5. The blockers were in full force in Jerusalem. The first group i saw was by Angels Bakery. There were about 100 people standing in the sidewalk yelling, another 30 cops guarding them, and traffic was going slow since everyone driving by was stopping to see what was going on. Apperently they had blocked the road, but by the time I got there the cops had it under control. The main thing I noticed about this crowd was their average age was about 12. All these little kids holding signs bigger then themselves. A group of 6 cops were walking toward a corner where two kids were alone. The two kids started waving their sign, "Jews dont expel Jews", and yelling. The sign was upside down.
I walked to the city entrance to see the real excitement. There were a few hundred people there, at least a hundred cops, and 4 cops on horses. (horses on horses, as everyone around me was saying[think Alladin]) the traffic lights were all off, and there were cops directing traffic. Even when noone was in the road, traffic was going slow, due to the ineptitude of the cops. Every once in a while, a kid would run through the street and 3 cops would tear off after him. Theyd grab the kid and march him to the cop cars while everyone yelled at them. The crowd was half charaidi. i dont know if they were to support Gush Katif or just cuz they hate the cops. Honestly, I dont know which reason I was there for either. We davened mincha there, amidst all the noise. Theres no praying like protest praying. I was standing near a wall, a bit above the street, enjoying the view, when I see a cop marching a kid I know to the cop cars. I yelled his name to make sure it was him, and he looked up, smiled and shook his fist. He had an orange band tied to his head, like many of the kids there. As they walked him through the crowd everyone yelled for him. People were even cheering. Political feelings aside, I was proud to see one of my hometown boys getting arrested. He came there for a purpose, and he accomplished it. It takes a Detroit boy to show these guys how to do it. It almost made me want to run into the street. Then I remembered I have a wife and a job. Also, that I dont agree with the whole road blocking thing.
The Gush Katifers clearly accomplished their goal of the day, traffic was horrible all day, and everyone knew that it was because of Gush Katif they couldnt get home. How that is going to stop the disengagement is beyond me. But at least I had fun. Also, in the end, they didnt have room to take the kid to the station so they let him go.

All About Pizza

This country is definitely not lacking in pizza. But what it is missing is great pizza. They have good pizza. Big Apple is good pizza. A bit thin, so it cant be labeled great, but excellent taste. Pizza Hut is good, but the slices are way too small. Theres a place in Geula I like, Amnons Pizza, they give you good dressing on the pizza. But theyre not even in the running for the best. I've had pizza all over this country, from Eilat to Maalot, but I havent found that amazing taste that makes me want to go back. Mendy and I used to order from Big Apple so much they all knew us there. Every time, half plain half tomato, extra spices, with a bottle of Coke. But it wasnt the great taste that had us calling them every day. It was our total laziness to find outt he number of a number place. Then I went back to Detroit for the summer and ate at our local pizza place (obviously called, Jerusalem Pizza). And then I remembered what great pizza was. Hawaiian pizza, with fake bacon, black olives, and pineapple. Its just amazing. The slices are nicely sized, thick enough, the crust tastes good. I dont know what Brian does, but he does it right.

Change of Heart

I blogged earlier about how I didnt agree with the siren, firstly from a religious viewpoint, secondly i just didnt "get" it. A lot has happened since then. Firstly, from the religious standpoint, Oleh Yashan made an excellent point, comparing it to a shofar. (see comment to earlier post, "Schlumberger")
About "getting it", I went with my wife to har herzl Yom HaZikkaron morning for the siren and the tekes. I really only went to appease her and show her I'm still Zionist even if I dont like the siren. We were standing along the graves when the siren went off. I started looking around not sure what to think about. I looked at the people standing around the graves. Most of them were my age or younger. Every grave there held the body of someone who was my age. They went to the army, just like me, but they didnt come out. Some of them were killed at the same bases that I had been on. The crowd of people was a mixture of religious and not, definitely a mixture of political feelings going on. But we all stood together, united in our loss. Brought together in our pain. I was amazed at how almost everyone in this country who is my age, has lost a friend. I knew this before, but I never took time to reflect on it. Standing there, beside our fallen heroes, listening ot the siren, forced me to reflect on this. Later, when I was back on har herzl for the bringing in of yom haatzmaut, I realized, we cant appreciate what we have without reflecting first on the cost. I remember in high school one year, I hung up an Israeli flag on yom haatzmaut. It was taken down and I was told "we" dont put up flags. In all honesty, I only hung it up to see what would happen, and I told everyone the story then so they would hate my school like I did. But now, I agree with him. the "we" I was a part of then was Americans who never thought of living here, who came to Israel for a year and left. "we" would never risk our lives for Israel, would never dream of donating any time to this country, and so "we" didnt deserve to hang the flag. Only those who can see, who can feel, the cost, can appreciate what we have. To appreciate, one needs time to reflect, which is what the siren is all about.

Hottest Ticket In Town

What a night!! 57 years of Independence!! Every year, there is a ceremony on har herzl, letting out yom hazikaron and bringing in yom haatzmaut. Its by invite only, all VIPs and people that know people. The rest of the country watches it on TV. People that are performing get tickets to the practice but not the main event. Somehow, though, my sister-in-law, who was performing, got us 2 tickets, and other people we know had another 2 for us, so father-in-law, brother-in-law Netanel, Abuela, and me. MyShan and mother-in-law had gone to the practice, so they didnt come. We sat at the top of the bleachers, left side. The Ramatkal (head of the army[his name is Bogey{I think first name}]) came. They parked his car (licence plate # Tzahal 1) under where I was sitting. I wanted to discuss disengagement with him, and a few other things that were bothering me, but he walked away to fast. Speaker of the Knesset Rivlin was also there. The whole thing was mad cool. David Daor sang (I never heard of him either). Rivlin spoke, during the practice he spoke just about Independence, Israel, all the dry stuff. During the real ceremony he switched his speech, and talked about how disengagement is destroying this country, and we should back off before we have a civil war. They had 12 people lighting candles, representing the 12 tribes. Except these werent all Jewish. The founder of Birthright lit one (hes also the head of everything else in Israel), he cant speak a word of Hebrew, You could tell they wrote his speech in transliteration. Hes Canadian, but still a good man. Azzam Azzam, lit a candle, the Israeli spy who was in jail in Egypt for 8 years. His brother was also killed in the army. A Bedouin lit one, a Druze, both who had relatives killed in the army (no, not by the army, they also serve and also get killed). Eli Cohens wife lit one, he was killed by Syria for spying. They had flag bearers in full dress uniform (I never knew we had that here[they even wore white gloves!]) march around, the Knesset Guard did marching, it was very cool to watch...Then the flag bearers stood in different formations making shapes, and all the girls that were in the dance part came out and joined them. They made some cool images, they made the # 57 (years of independence), a heart with a magen david inside, a flag if israel, a menora, a big magen david, ad some other designs. The girls were all dressed in either blue or white, and the shapes came out awesome. Then they did a lot of dancing and different stuff. Then they shot off a bunch of fireworks (with the song Yoya blasting), and it was over. I'm glad I went, it was quite an experience.

More memories

It was bound to happen. MyShan found out my opinion of standing for the siren, so now I'm in the doghouse. I even stood for it, but that didnt really help matters. I'm supposed to be working, but the website is down. I got a ticket to the hottest show in town tomorrow. My sister-in-law, Michal, learns dance, and is part of the tekes in Har Herzl for Yom HaAtzmaut. She got two tickets for the practice run yesterday, and 2 for the real one. So Shan and Mom-in-law went yesterday, and me and father-in-law are going tomorrow. I'm very excited. Its supposed to be the coolest thing.
I got a lot of slack for saying that I'm didnt rebel, I just did my own thing as a kid. I'd like to reiterate that, I know a lot of guys that would go to movies cuz it wasnt allowed, or even do something crazy like own a radio, all to break rules. I wasnt like that at all. When I was in the mood, I wen tto a movie. If I was at home, I told my parents, if I was in yeshiva, I snuck out the back. At home I turned the radio on in my room, in yeshiva I hid it under my pillow. But it wasnt any form of a rebellion. Same thing with dating. I met a girl, I liked her, I met her a bunch more, and we eventually startd going out. I didnt go out to meet girls bcause it wasnt allowed, I went to meet girls cuz thats where all my friends were. Even smoking wasnt to rebel. I was in a horrible high school, my friends were smoking so I took a drag and, walla, I was more relaxed. OK, maybe it as more then one drag on one cigarette, but it relaxed me. So I did it more. Since it wasnt allowed I had to hide it, but thats not rebelling. Thats me trying to fit my lifestyle into a different world. Just for the record, even before I finished high school, I finished smoking. I decided it wasnt worth the risk, plus there was a lot of outside pressure for me to stop. And I was never a heavy smoker. I was more the "I'm real down, can I bum a cig off you" kinda guy.
Enough with that. Point being, I was never a rebel, just a man trying out life his own way.
The websites back up, I got to get back to work.
I hope everyone takes this day, thinks about the fallen soldiers, and does something positive, however small, in their memory.

Schlumberger

Today was a happy day. i handed in a paper, 33 pages long, that took me days to write. It involved analyzing a company, using all kinds of secret functions on Excel, and just going through endless amounts of pointless data. But now I know more about Excel then I want, and much more about Schlumberger then I could possibly care. Schlumberger is an oil company. Its not in Iraq. And its not Jewish.
Yom Hazikkaron is coming. I'm not a fan of the siren. Granted, if I'm in the street, I'm going to stand. But not out of respect for the dead. I'm going to stand cuz I dont care to make an anti-standing statement. Its not worth the effort.But I definitely dont agree with the whole thing. My first problem is that standing in a moment of silence isnt a Jewish thing. Jews pray. But in reality, we waste so much time throughout the day, to decide that the one minute of silence is wasting time is not a real argument. Although to make it a national minute to waste time does bring it to a new level. But I realized something else. When we pray for someone who died, although it may help us on some level, the ultimate goal is to help the soul of the departed. We do things in their memory to bless them. Something positive is happening in honor of the dead man, and we hope G-d acknowledges that and helps them out up there. Whats the purpose of standing in silence? To remember the dead. But to what purpose? Lets say I use the minute to its fullest. I think of all those who died for us, who gave their lives so we could lead ours. I think of specific instances, of soldiers who put themselves at risk for others, of those who were killed in terror attacks. Then the siren stops. The minute is over. And I continue walking down the street. Does the dead guy care that I thought about him? I dont think so. Does it make me feel better about myself, knowing that I'm not being so egotistical, that I am taking out time to think of others? Possibly. But then, the whole reason I'm standing is to make myself feel better. So it's a purely selfish thing to stand in memory. Obviously, this country being Jewish only in name, they cant institute something positive, like the whole country saying Shema at the same time in memory of the dead. just 6 little words. but of course, we'd rather just stand still and do nothing then actually try to do something for these soldiers who died for us. I think these soldiers are looking down and getting pretty pissed off. Here, they went out and got killed defending us, and all we can do is stand and stare at each other? What kind of respect is that?? It doesnt have to be saying Shema. It could be giving tzeddaka. Imagine if everyone gave 10 agurot in memory of the dead. Then, we can all feel good we did something, and the dead get points, cuz we gave in their memory, and we gave charity. Then everyone wins.

Mothers Day

With all respect to Mothers Day, why do people feel the need to answer the phone and say "Happy Mothers Day"??? I'm not their mother, I dont even know them, and I just want to schedule an appt. They should wait to see who it is and then wish a happy mothers day.

Two of my friends from grade school got engaged this week. I feel the need to reflect. One of them, Avi*, lived down the block from me. His father was my Rebbi and he was obviously trying to become a Rabbi since 1st grade. We did homework together, carpooled together, but never really connected. We just never had the same goals. Then he left town to yeshiva, and I didnt see him for a few years. I saw him walking past my house one day and went over to say hi. i couldnt understand him due to the heavy yeshiva mumbling. I just stared at him, then nodded, and went home. I dont think I've seen him since. If I would see him, I dont think I would say hi cuz I know that after the "hi", the uncomfortable silence comes in. I see him turning into one of those kollel people that never learn to relate to the world. I find that sad. I hope he meets someone charismatic that influences his life and brings out the inner something. Then he can positively influence the world in some way, instead of being one of those guys that sits and learns and goes home, never inviting guests who arent in the yeshiva over, never talking to someone who's intersted in Judiasm, or who needs that little push to help him out. Why do people keep attaining knowledge if they dont use it?
The other guy, Yitz*, was a big sports fan. i didnt have so much to do with him in grade school, except we both hated the same people. That was how my class bonded. Then in 9th grade we made a siyum on mesechet megilla together. Then we both went to yeshivot out of town and didnt really have much to do with each other. 2 years later, I was home for the summer, bored out of my mind. I went to hang out with my old friends who had made new friends since I had left. For the first time in my life, I hung out with girls. Despite what many think, I didnt do it as an act of rebellion, or to spite anyone, I was just bored and needed some friends. Yitz was also part of this crowd. His parents didnt mind, so he was allowed to openly mingle. I didnt want to know what my parents thought so I hid and lied every time I left the house. I used to learn with Yitz, then run off to see the girls, then say I had been hanging out with him all day. It didnt work for very long, then I got in a lot of trouble. I always wonder what would have happened if I had been honest. It wasnt til that summer of 11th grade that I met my neighbor, Leah*. I knew she existed, but thats all I knew. She was dating someone at the time that I disliked, but it didnt last too long. I started hanging out with this crowd on my weekends home, and kept up with email when I was away. Then I started dating one of the girls. Yitz always took the credit for being the one to set us up. The relationship lasted 3 years, then I ended it. He was dating another girl from the crowd, and we all used to go out together, always sneaking from someones parents. Yitz was one of those friends that when we were both home, we would always hang out together, but we never kept up when we were away. We never really had an emotional friendship of sharing, we just had mutual friends and hung out together a lot. This past summer he started dating Leah, and now they are engaged. I find it a bit weird to want to marry someone youve known for so long. But I am happy for them. They have both been to israel, to schools out of state, but in the end, they are sticking to their roots. I have a lot to thank Yitz for. He was always there for me. He would drive me places, deliver messages for me, always back up my cover story. Even if he didnt have to lie, he would do it for me. Even though that first relationship didnt work out, I learned a lot from it, and I have Yitz to thank for giving me that learning opportunity. Theres a beautiful country song, "G-d blessed the broken road that led me to you". Without that road that we all walked on, and fell down, and got up and kept walking, I may have never met my Eshet Chayil. So thank you everyone who has been there for me along the way.

*name changed for the hell of it

Happy Mimuna

The first thing I usually like to so after the Chametz fast of 7 days (thats right, 7, not 8) is to eat pizza. Its the thing I miss the most. Theres something about the cheese, soft and hot, melted onto the dough, with tomato sauce (but not too much tomato sauce) in the middle, sometimes a little something on top, but not neccesarily. This year was different. The second th Chag ended, we rushd off to Bet Shemesh for the mimuna. For those who dont know, mimuna is a Morrocan holiday, where they eat mufleta (like a mallawach(like a lafa(a doughy circle thing))with honey and butter spread on it)and other Morracan foods and bless everyone. Although my Moroccan side all lives in Bet Shemesh, we first went to Abuela's (Grandma's) neighbor cuz she makes th best mufleta. They also had carrot syrup, not so good. Then we went to Saba and Savta of the Morrocan side and stayed there for a bit. Then we jumped over to cousin Kelly, but she didnt have any mufleta or anything. So we went back to Saba and Savtas. They blessed us that we should have children, male children (from the Godfather?) and be happy. then it was 1AM and we came home. I still havent had pizza yet. I have a major paperwork due tommorow but I'm blogging instead so Mendy, shut up.