You know that strange feeling you get when you’re anxious and you feel like everyone is staring at you? When I get that feeling, everyone IS staring at me. I made an appearance today at the Bally’s pool for the first time. Not only were people staring at me, jaws dropped, whispers ensued and finally… Continue reading Living in the Spotlight
They can’t write. This symptom manifests itself in different variations at the university tutoring center where I spend my afternoons. I tutor mostly freshmen and the rare upperclassmen in writing. As the high school teacher made famous for packing on the writing assignments, students and teachers alike complimented my relentless drive to ensure that my… Continue reading The Subject-Verb Disagreement
We went to the Five Towns for Shabbos. Everything that could go wrong did. Traveling and fibromyalgia don’t really mix. Sitting for too long (so my muscles and bones atrophy and start to hurt unbearably), over-stimulation (from subway noise and train noise) and carrying heavy things (like our bags) all spell disaster. To get to… Continue reading A Rainy, Racist "MEXICAN HOUSEKEEPER" Kind of Shabbos
Rabbi Lookstein, who happens to have been the head of the beit din that converted me, is not too happy with the RCA’s new stance on conversion. I guess I should be happy, that according to an article in Jewish Week, Rabbi Lookstein is “on the list.” I think that means my conversion is “100%… Continue reading On the list
Hubbie’s cousin is a Radio City Rockette. And last night, she almost became my creative guru. If it were up to her, I’d be giving art lessons, painting and writing up a storm…oh, and taking some risks. I am not a risk taker. I have never had enough stability in my life to be willing… Continue reading Portrait of an artist
I’ve had to give up on a lot of dreams. As a child, when I didn’t grow past 5’3,” I let go of the momentary dream of being a firefighter. I gave up the dream of becoming a fashion illustrator when I realized I would never be able to afford the art supplies I would… Continue reading On Dreaming or The Sarah Lawrence Obsession
Before Hubbie and I got hitched, our rabbi had us read a book by Maurice Lamm, The Jewish Way in Love & Marriage. I had already read books on taharat mispacha, the Jewish laws of family purity, and the laws and the mindset behind tzniut, the laws of modesty, and shomer negia, observing the rules… Continue reading It’s in his kiss
I’m at work where there is a serious lack of students to tutor. The one regular is a blind girl who needs things read aloud or typed for her and various other things my disability prevents me from doing. We joke about what two little disabled girls like us are doing in a place like… Continue reading What is my full-time job?
I was raised by wolves. This makes things like human manners and decorum a very foreign concept. My mother on manners: Don’t talk (lest you embarrass me and I have to kill you)!Talk (lest you embarrass me with your shyness and I have to kill you)!Don’t embarrass me (you get the picture?)!Don’t leave guests unattended… Continue reading A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
There is actually a guidebook for converts. Of course, I didn’t know this. I didn’t even think to look. I had to get through all 50 odd books that the rabbi listed on the curriculum, forget going out there and looking for myself. The thing is, as I page through many books about conversion in… Continue reading Finding my place in the world…
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 