Are you ready for a "roundup of the life of Chavi" post? Brace yourself, it's absolutely thrilling. (Oh, and a note? The hedgehog birthday note was for Mottel , so I hope he enjoyed it.)
At any rate, this is what happens when I spend days taking notes on all of the ways that Qohelet espouses on how to live/act to find happiness (via wisdom). Yes, I scribble and doodle. I think it's my way of thinking. Thought through random objects with random shapes with random shading.
I'm quite excited for this Shabbos, because it means I'm one week closer to the International Shabbaton in Crown Heights, NY next weekend. It will not only be my first time in Crown Heights, but it will once again be an observant Shabbos with hopefully like-minded people. But I'm also excited for this Shabbos because I got my lamp timers in the mail (thanks for the suggestion Susanne), and my lamps are all set up to turn on and turn off at specific times. The wonders of technology are magnificent, and they'll finally allow me to turn my lamps off without violating the Sabbath! Add to this I got some more scarves, a pair of (cheesily plaid) snow boots, not to mention a long jean skirt (man, I never thought I'd want another one of those) on the way, and I'm stoked.
And ... I'm seconds away from having the oomph to email a couple rabbis to discuss how I can go about proceeding with a conversion, as well. But that's taking some working up to. I figure I have some Orthodox references on my side who are willing to attest to my want, nay, need, for an Orthodox conversion in the near/not-so-distant future.
And lastly? (Man this is a big "ooo Orthodoxy post.") I hopped over to Nosh, the kosher dining facility for dinner tonight and was so glad I did -- cheese lasagna, garlic bread, strawberry shortcake, and a delicious Italian salad? Yum. I've also -- for the past week -- been completely solid on the separation of meat and dairy in my meals. I was holding out for so long on the chicken/milk, but it's become interesting and intriguing eating in the (non-kosher) cafeteria while attempting to eat things without dairy for meat meals and vice-a-versa. Now that I've realized how easy it is to get to Nosh, I'll probably venture there regularly. The kitchen staff are great, and aside from being short on the mashgiach and not being able to serve some meals, they're nice digs.
Most importantly? I'm pretty darn content with where I'm going.