For the Love of Blog

It's hard to believe but I am finally done! Thanks everyone! Thanks to Dylan, Tessa, Athene, and André for their prompts. Thanks to my monitor missmope. Thanks especially to Julia, who not only supplied about half of my prompts but chatted with me on Skype for much of the night. And thanks to my dad for being supportive and not complaining about Blogathon interrupting his visit.

Some final prompts from Julia:

Sky or sea?

Sky.

Forest or trees?

Forest.

Red or green?

Green!

Where do you want to go?

Home. But then away again to somewhere new.

Where do you come from?

The woods and dells of small-town PA.

Who are you?

Forever curious.

See you all next year! :D

Not very flattering at all, but here I am:



Both from Tessa

Thrift store shopping.

I must do more of it. I haven't found a good thrift store in Toronto quite yet. In Kensington "vintage" is the name of the game, basically glorified and more expensive thrift if you ask me. I did get a pair of slippers at a garage sale for 25 cents, but they got a hole in the bottom after a few weeks. I guess that was my 25-cents worth.

The misconception that stalking behavior is romantic.

Very creepy and weird. Unfortunately propagated my men's magazines and the like. Seriously, your girlfriend is a person. Unless it's some matter of seriously hurting her feelings or saving face or something like that, just be honest with her. If she can't take that, get a new girlfriend. End of story.

André:

Exercise and diet regimens designed to let you pick up a car.

Diet based on proteins: lean meat and plenty of eggs, otherwise balanced.

Lift weights from the knees and slowly bring over the head until heaviest weights can be confidently hoisted over the head.

You will probably still kill yourself trying to pick up a car.

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Athene:

Coolest language ever and why you think so.

I cannot pick favorites but I've studied a lot of languages since grade school (I retain only bits and pieces of each, except perhaps Japanese, in which I am very rusty but proficient). German is just really fun to say and has cool letters that English doesn't; it bothers me when people say that Germans always sound angry, they sound very happy to me. Japanese: the writing system is about the most challenging you will ever come across, but so worth it; I love the shape of words and pattern of speech, clear as a bell! Hindi has these sounds and aspirations that English doesn't so you have to listen a while to be able to distinguish and pronounce them properly, and some you might never get; but when you do, it's so rewarding. Arabic is another very guttural language that I think is beautiful (maybe because I'm Jewish, Hebrew and everything); the writing is beyond gorgeous too, just all-around fun.

Tessa:

The plight of the prudish female in today's dating world.

It ain't easy when when hookup culture is very much the norm. I guess the trick is finding folks who, because religious and/or cultural values, avoid sex. Of course this presents another obstacle for the non-religious. But if you don't mind dating someone who's pretty religious Christians (especially Catholics), Muslims, Hindus, and Jews who are very observant tend to shy away from sex. Maybe troll the internet and see if there's a meeting place for the prudish? An OkCupid for the pure?


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Athene:

Things you wish you had known at age 14.

That anyone worth anything won't give a crap if you make a bit of a fool of yourself, so you might as well stop worrying about it. And talk to people!

Also, that terrible Jewish day school experience: it'll be over. Try to look at it as a learning experience.

André:

Invented life-changing moments and advice columns either addressed to yourself or offering unsolicited help.

Dear Hilary,

It was after I had worried myself practically sick wondering if Brett would dance with me, hid in the bathroom out of embarrassment from a potential wardrobe malfunction, and gotten the zipper of my strapless silk dress caught, that I realized: "fuck 'em." Katie and I spent the night sharing our hopes and fears, riding around town creating mischief and mayhem.

Sincerely,

Free At Last, Free At Last.


Dear Free At Last,

Good for you.

Hilary

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And from Dylan:

What it's like to not be stoned but think you are...

How about you write about such an experience since you seem to know so much about it? May I venture that is was slightly terrifying?

Julia:

Didn't you live in England for a while as a kid? Talk about that.

I did. When I was about seven years old I lived in England for five months and then in Sweden for one month. My father is a professor, so my childhood was punctuated with his sabbaticals (New York City when I was a baby, and Philadelphia when I was 14). As for the five months in England: we lived in a small house in Wilmslow, Cheshire and I went to an all-girl's day school called St. Hilary's (I kid you not. There were other school options, but being me I chose the school with the same name as me. St. Hilary was a dude though.) in the nearby town of Alderley Edge.

Besides some homesickness, it was an overwhelmingly positive experience. I liked our neighborhood, I made plenty of friends at school, I got good grades. I have many fond memories of British school customs (like the uniform, which I still have bits of in my closet) and random things like Cadbury Creme Eggs being available all-year round. I haven't been back since, though. So I have all these childhood memories of mid-1990s Britain and I imagine a lot has changed since then.

Julia:

Is forgetting more of a blessing or more of a curse?

I guess that depends on what you're forgetting. If you do forget something that seemed important, maybe just assume that it was for the better?

Julia:

Would you become a vampire if the opportunity presented itself? (Some parameters: Yes, you do have to drink blood, but you don't necessarily have to kill for it. Yes, sunlight is lethal. Yes, you will be immortal in the sense that you can't get sick or die of age, and you'll be a lot harder to kill by physical trauma. You keep your current appearance, and your mind and personality remain intact.)

Nope. Maybe this comes from reading too much of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles but the sacrifices seem like too much to me. Especially lately I've become very much of a "death is part of life" kind of person. Maybe it's also from reading one too many fantasy novels (or Buddhist texts) with wise old wizards (buddhas/arhats) who utter sage advice about life after death (Ged in The Farthest Shore and Dumbledore in Harry Potter of course). "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." Or something like that.

Can't say I wouldn't be curious though, if becoming a vampire was really possible.

The images got flipped in iPhoto and I didn't feel like flipping them back. Why I Hate Canadians by Will Ferguson, a book Dylan let me borrow after I told him that I want to learn more about Canadian politics; and Religions by Philip Wilkinson (the Eyewitness Companion), because religion is my new obsession and I'm a sucker for pretty pictures.



But first I have to finish Orientalism. I'm getting there.

From André:

Conversations that could potentially occur, but have not, between you and friends.

Zeyneb and I said we would have a big discussion about intrareligious discrimination. We've both had very negative experiences in our respective religious traditions (Judaism and Islam). I have a general desire to have long religious comparison discussions with my Muslim friends because of the striking similarities between Judaism and Islam.

I meant to talk to Mandavni about her nose ring before getting mine. I believe she's in Vancouver for the summer, but I guess I could have sent her a facebook message or something.

I've also wanted to talk to Shoshana about her time in Israel.

And Dylan about his time in Japan.

So many conversations, so little time...