Every year I end up helping out prepare at school for the Salute to Israel parade and spend time painting banners etc. and it usually involves giving up alot of my free time to do so. Every year I say I adamantly refuse to do it the following year. But I get stuck doing it anyways. In a way I love it because it is the only time I really get to paint something major and miss the feel of paint in my nails but I end up doing most of it my self etc. This year I ended up doing it again but came up with something simple and got to do it instead of other things in school which made me really happy. So here are some pictures of what it looks like so far. It's a big banner so I had to take the pictures of separate parts of it but if you know the reference, you can piece it all together.

I feel like my blog readership has gone down so if you are still reading this please let me know. It has not been that I have had nothing to write lately but it has been a little bit slow being that it was Pesach and then work, and then I got a cold :(

I read this today. I thought it was inspiring.
Many Holocaust survivors have often wondered why they were spared when so many others died around them. Perhaps Prof. Librescu was spared then, so he could not only build a family and give the world his knowledge, but also as a final act, be there, at V Tech to save the lives of others. Life takes very strange turns, doesn't it?
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Happy April, but I am not so much liking these spring showers we had today. It was my first day back after vacation to work and my first two classes I had less than 10 kids per class, it was sad, everyone extends their vacations except for us teachers.

Hi all!
I am sorry I haven't posted anything of really big substance in awhile. I was too tired to do so without being completely incoherent.
Those of you who really know me, knows that Pesach is really not my favorite holiday so I have been a little irritable about it. I mean all that cleaning and cooking and stuff and it is supposed to be a holiday about being liberated from the bondages of slavery. Shouldn't a way to celebrate be to do less work? not more work? And while I am all for family time...
Anyways, I went to the snow patrol concert on Tuesday night. It was fun, it was very unpretentious and all the leads of the 3 bands that played were cracking jokes and poking fun at the audience and such, so it was a good time. Also I need to bond with the pet because now she will be away for a month and then will come back for a month and then she is moving and leaving us behind :( I think I will end up somewhere in Europe this summer.

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

It seems I still have a few states to go. Road trip anyone?

I took the "What's So Funny?" quiz on gURL.com
		My sense of humor is... Absurd Does nonsense make sense to you? Then absurd comedy might be your fish. Did you know that there is actually a word that means "saying something totally illogical"? It's called a "non-sequitur" and comedians use them to abruptly confuse or surprise you.Read more... What is your sense of humor?

Apparently my sense of humor is absurd. Who would have thunk it? Hehe thunk it....

If any of you was ever wondering what you would look like as an M&M you can make yourself an M&M on their website. This is me!!

Another purse thank you. My friends M and C got me an awesome rubber chicken purse. It's great and fits tons of stuff but the zipper broke already so I have to fix that. I have no idea what to wear to the Pet's engagement party sat night. HELP ME!

First of all I want to thank all of my friends who celebrated my birthday with me between those who texted me and those who came friday night...thank you I love you. It was fun and great and really sweet of you. I went around doing errands today with the pet and now have a fantastic new vintage lucite purse. When we got back to the pets apartment, the doorman had the cutest little fluffy bunny on a lease. Of course I had to take a pic and the Pet had to make friends...

Apparently I have gained another year. The funny thing is, I really dont feel any older or wiser for it.

I am really too upset right now to say anything.

So I have a very nice stuffed elephant that my friend gave me last year around xmas time as a present. It's fairly large and hard to miss and generally lives on my bed. I was picking him up and noticed that there were blobs of plaster stuck to him which means when they were fixing my ceiling they were negligent in taking care of my things. I left my landlord a message saying as much. This really upsets me.

Purim was interesting. Had alot of fun at my friend M's Seudah....but I am just really too tired to blog...If I do everything will just make less and less sense than it usually does and we all know what that might lead to.. Yeah, I have no idea either. Happy Adar everyone! I hope y'all had a good time.

Happy Hebrew Birthday to me...

McSweeney's Issue 22 is on its way to subscribers and is now available on our site. This issue includes our most contributors ever and our strongest magnets ever.

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COOKIE MONSTER
SEARCHES DEEP WITHIN
HIMSELF AND ASKS: IS ME
REALLY MONSTER?
BY ANDY F. BRYAN

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Me know. Me have problem.

Me love cookies. Me tend to get out of control when me see cookies. Me know it not natural to react so strongly to cookies, but me have weakness. Me know me do wrong. Me know it isn't normal. Me see disapproving looks. Me see stares. Me hurt inside.

When me get back to apartment, after cookie binge, me can't stand looking in mirror—fur matted with chocolate-chip smears and infested with crumbs. Me try but me never able to wash all of them out. Me don't think me is monster. Me just furry blue person who love cookies too much. Me no ask for it. Me just born that way.

Me was thinking and me just don't get it. Why is me a monster? No one else called monster on Sesame Street. Well, no one who isn't really monster. Two-Headed Monster have two heads, so he real monster. Herry Monster strong and look angry, so he probably real monster, too. But is me really monster?

Me thinks me have serious problem. Me thinks me addicted. But since when it acceptable to call addict monster? It affliction. It disease. It burden. But does it make me monster?

How can they be so callous? Me know there something wrong with me, but who in Sesame Street doesn't suffer from mental disease or psychological disorder? They don't call the vampire with math fetish monster, and me pretty sure he undead and drinks blood. No one calls Grover monster, despite frequent delusional episodes and obsessive-compulsive tendencies. And the obnoxious red Grover—oh, what his name?—Elmo! Yes, Elmo live all day in imaginary world and no one call him monster. No, they think he cute. And Big Bird! Don't get me started on Big Bird! He unnaturally gigantic talking canary! How is that not monster? Snuffleupagus not supposed to exist—woolly mammoths extinct. His very existence monstrous. Me least like monster. Me maybe have unhealthy obsession, but me no monster.

No. Me wrong. Me too hard on self. Me no have unhealthy obsession. Me love cookies, but it no hurt anyone. Me just enthusiast. Everyone has something they like most, something they get excited about. Why not me? Me perfectly normal. Me like cookies. So what? Cookies delicious. Cookies do not make one monster. Everyone loves cookies.

Me no monster. Me OK guy. Me OK guy who eat cookies.

Who me kidding? Me know me never actually eat cookies. Me only crumble cookies in mouth, but me no swallow. Me can't swallow. Me no have no esophagus. Me no have no trachea. Me only have black fabric throat. Me not supposed to be able to even talk.

Me no eat cookies.

Me destroy cookies.

Me crush cookies.

Me mutilate cookies.

Me make it so no one get cookies.

Everyone right. Me really is cookie monster.

I don't think my ceiling was really fixed, I think they just painted over everything to make it look fixed because there are still bumps and dents up there where the ceiling swelled or plaster fell down. It kind of sucks that way.

I don't know why I am so tired but I am and tiredness makes me more cranky than I mean to be so if I was cranky or mean to you please forgive me. Hopefully all will be good by this weekend when we will celebrate Purim and spend time with friends and hopefully not have to think about other stuff...

I don't know why I assigned a paper because then I will just have to read them all, but it is due tomorrow and kids are emailing me like mad. Think of leaving things to last minute. I understand though because I do the same thing.

Tired...so tired...and my landlord is not answering my calls. Which makes me unhappy. But otherwise everything else is ok..I guess. :)
I am going to think up a positive for today....

I will get the bad things of today out first:
Monday's are INSANE. I could not sleep last night and had to get up early and the day was crazy. First we found out that one of my student's fathers suddenly passed away. I also turned my hands green with food coloring. Like Kermitt the frog green. I had a long day because I had a meeting after school and didn't really get to say anything at the meeting which is somewhat frustrating because the whole point is to share what's going on with students. After the meeting, I tutored a former student of mine and did a lab with him. Then I went to grocery shop, cooked etc. When I went into my room to get something from my bed and realized that once again there was plaster on my bed.
So this is the state of my ceiling right now...not so fun.
Pretty isn't it?
So good stuff of my day. Despite having 12 kids in my first class and my labs not set up on time the teaching stuff went pretty well! I also grilled awesome chicken for dinner. :) Hey that's a positive right? The other thing is my birthday is the 20th Anniversay of U2's Joshua Tree Album - my favorite.

The Purim thing really was not all that great...actually it was boring. I was all wired up to go do something tonight..so basically I think I am boring myself to sleep right now. I did figure out that on Thursday it is my hebrew birthday which is the 11 th of Adar I believe, which, by the way the calender falls out is also Taanit Esther. I thought that was interesting. I am trying to solidify some plans for the weekend. I have a friend coming in from out of town who is going to come to lunch by us on Saturday but as far as other plans...they are a bit murky right now, but then again it is only Monday. I can not believe March is almost upon us.