So cold . . .

I wrote a poem for my creative writing class senior year of high school with this title, too. However, I was far from Teva at the time, not knowing that I'd be experiencing such cold this season. We were at –5° Fahrenheit this morning when I woke at 7:20. It's so cold . . . that the schmutz in my nose is freezing every time I walk outside.

Just thought I'd share.

Cartoon Feature

Saturday night, Teva went bowling, in part continuing to celebrate my birthday. I didn't bowl so well, though. Couldn't seem to find a ball of the ideal weight and finger hole size. One strike maybe and a bunch of spares in two games, but no special excitement on my part. Oh well. Fun times, though.

So, today I'm featured in The PC Weenies, a cartoon creation of Krishna M. Sadisavam. We've been corresponding lately about the details of the strip and he sent me a sketch to review. Surely you can figure out the rest. Here it is, with Krishna's intro:

The Mac Guy.... 
Posted on 12/12/2005 by Krishna

At work, I'm known as 'the Mac guy' because I'm responsible for fixing/maintaining/deploying Macs in our department. No doubt there are others who are dubbed 'the Mac guy' where they work, too—whether they manage them for their IT department, or bring their Mac in from home to work in their office.

I thought about that phrase 'the Mac guy' a good bit and came up with today's toon - which, by the way, features guest-star Ben Rosenthal.

Of Snow Boots and Cavecicles

Haven't brought out the Frisbee yet, but this afternoon, Isaac, JR, and I bushwhacked up the mountain to the caves. Wish I had my snow boots with me, to make a better seal of my ski pant elastics around my ankles, but I left them home due to weight concerns. However, my double-layered crew socks kept the snow from seeping down around my feet well enough.

Lisa had measured the snow this morning and confirmed it a full foot deep, as forecast for the Litchfield Hills, which we're among. So, the hike up through untouched white stuff was more fun because while we couldn't see the rocks and logs except to notice where the snow piled higher, the snow is soft and not bad for falling into, even with a harder surface below so much of it.

When we got up to the caves, an area whose adjacent terrain I recognized from my last trip up there a month ago, we were greeted by some enormous icicles, some even joining rocks or running from ceiling to floor. Isaac snagged some good photos I'll add to my collection.

Soon, he and JR headed up a ways and I stayed behind to take a rest between two boulders where last time I'd found a possibly good napping place. Didn't go in then because it was wet, but today it was dry. I removed a few small icicles in my way, careful not to disturb the bigger, prettier ones, and cautiously climbed in. Turned out the rocks were closer than I'd thought and I couldn't straighten my head between them; had to keep it sideways. I was also quick to remove my glasses, lest they get more scratched.

We chatted a bit on radio about our intentions and I decided to lie there for about 15 minutes, one of the larger icicles hanging not six inches from my nose. Then, I carefully got myself down and headed up. Met I & J at the top and I and I took turns leading the way down any which way we chose to go. Had some fun slides along the way and at one point spied the Freedman lake, which was quite tough to distinguish except as a space of open whiteness between the mountains. Soon enough, we got down far enough to recognize where we'd ended up, quite close to our starting point.

Now, having snacked, folks are pondering about praying and getting ready for dinner. I think I'll go join them again in the ponderment.

A Play-in-the-Snow Kind of Day

This morning's energy rounds were possibly the best and the worst of the season. The best because I got to tromp through at least six inches of new snow, fallen the past 10 hours, to get from building to building. The worst because the group here this weekend is 150 high school students who just don't think about the energy thing or the common sense logic bit. Practically every room or space in every room I entered had a light on. Plus, thermostats were set to hold at 75° or 80°. (The requested max is 70°.) The same set of rooms and spaces also had no people inside. I'd be willing to bet that this is the most energy wasteful weekend of the entire year.

Meanwhile, with the snow continuing to fall so hard now, I'm trusting the meteorologists who forecasted six to 12 inches of snow today. Our "heavy snow warning" is in effect until 4 pm and, while I also have work to do today for Freedman, I will definitely find time to enjoy the weather and the white stuff on the ground. Of course, it'll be around all weekend, so there's plenty of time to stay warm playing late night frisbee in the snow!

Quarter Century Complete!

Had a fun weekend with parents visiting. Dad and Bonnie arrived Friday afternoon and joined us for Shabbat. We used a siddur compiled by Marcia Prager for services and I was overjoyed when I discovered the creative version of Ma'ariv Aravim that I learned from Daniel Siegel at the 2001 ALEPH Kallah. It's contained in his Siddur Kol Koreh that has been my primary prayer book since then, and I've only done this particular version once since then.

Anyway, now that everyone had it in hand, I led the prayer in the tune Daniel taught. I hadn't led much in services yet this season, and it was probably the first time I had an opportunity to lead a song to which no one else knew the tune. That was exciting!

Saturday afternoon after lunch, Dad, Bonnie, and I drove to visit Norfolk and Winsted, Connecticut. We stopped for a snack at Café 64 in Winsted, a quaint place with cool staff and good books on the shelf. We shared pesto and mozzarella on freschetta and veggie chili. Then we walked Main Street and back, probably at least a couple miles, and drove to Norfolk where we ate a delicious dinner at The Pub Station Place. I sat in the moose chair, which was very difficult to get in and out of with all those antler tips wanting to dig into my legs.

Upon our return to Freedman, all of Teva had disappeared. Fortunately, there was a note left on the board that folks should bring everything they need Sunday to Nili's, so I figured that's where everyone went. Did a couple chores on site and quickly packed a bag, and we went to Nili and Yosh's for the rest of the evening. Had stopped in Winsted and picked up some goodies to celebrate my birthday, so we brought them along to share. I gave Dad and Bonnie the quick tour of the house and they stayed to watch Annie Hall, which the crew was just starting when we arrived.

I said goodbye when they left, since the Sunday morning schedule wasn't conducive to their participation, nor convenient for their departure schedule. They enjoyed breakfast at Mountainside Café in Falls Village, just half a mile from Freedman, and I had a fun morning of breakfast and meeting and learning, not to mention the excitement of waking to a snow-covered landscape, at Nili's before we headed back to campus.

Spent a while of the afternoon after lunch trying to fill the hot tub, which was losing water fast. For now, finally, Stewart has hoses hooked up to the spigot at the main building to send water up. (The 4-gallon-bucket-to-30-gallon-trash-can-on-wheeled-cart-uphill-to-tub technique was exhausting and not worth repeating, so I brought a hose to a heated room to defrost for the night.) We're still waiting, though, for the hot tub company to come finish the work to hook up the pool house to the main water line for year-round filling purposes.

So, 25 years ago today, about an hour ago to be exact, I came out (of the womb). Thanks to Mom and Dad for having me! I received a spontaneous vocal celebration at lunch, care of Adamah, and we'll see whether I think of something special to request for this evening. Perhaps, though, we'll wait until I've survived my first two or three days of my second quarter before the wild and crazy fun begins.

Another Warm Day

. . . and another flood watch forecast for tonight. Last night got progressively warmer (rather than cooler) and I awoke to about 54°, which has risen a few to the current continuing high of 58°. And, thunderstorms on approach this evening have unfortunately turned into some blustery winds this afternoon and one to two inches of rain late tonight. Not sure about the flooding aspect.

In other news, I've finally located a computer and configuration with which I can once again play (and share) Tetripz, a drug-influence-simulating Tetris game I discovered several years ago. It's the most challenging version of Tetris I've ever played and I've pulled together a good handful of interested players.

Ben "Apple Crisp" Rosenthal

This weekend I spent more time in the kitchen than probably all season before. We did a wedding and had a blast! Saturday evening, after Shabbat, I helped Michal prepare the meal for Sunday afternoon's festivities. First, I constructed the portobello towers that would be the vegetarian entrée. Then, I masterfully demonstrated my awesome Tetris skills and endurance by dishing mostly-still-frozen apple slices into 180 individual dishes, to be topped with crumbly topping, for the apple crisp dessert.

On Sunday, I worked on the wedding as needed all day (9 am to 7 pm), which included the two latter hours helping speed Tonia and company through the dish washing. Sure, we used a commercial dishwasher with a 45-second cycle, but for two hours!!! It was quite a hectic afternoon in there, but we made it through.

Afterward, we headed to the yurt for a wild party with some significant intoxication to go around . . . except me, of course. I was already high, anyway, on the previous 24 hours. This was my first opportunity to really work for Michal and we shared pleasure in the full experience, to the point that my nickname is now Apple Crisp. I'll be sure to put that on my résumé.

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving?

Tonight I enjoyed perhaps my first completely vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner, at Nili and Yosh's round house. No kidding. And best of all, no tofurkey. Yosh cheffed a delicious meal including shepherd's pie, acorn squash stuffed with organic apples from our local orchard, and more goodies. Plus, Nili baked fresh breads served with a variety of spreads. And, of course, there was pumpkin pie for dessert, made with pumpkins from the Sadeh, along with angel food cake and a tri-berry topping.

Good company including the same from last night less Rebecca, Zim, and Gabe, plus a couple of Nili's old friends from college and their kids. I wasn't in the mood to chat much, but it was a fun evening.