It is what it is.

This is the new catch phrase that I am hearing all over the office.

Week one of new school behind us and all ok, so far.
Kids are getting used to a shorter day and now I have to make sure my help will still be able to continue to help. Her family is complaining because there is no food to eat at 7PM when she is leaving my house. We are now trying to let her take the kids to her house, whatever it takes, but who knows - I certainly don't know if I want my small kids coming home to ask me about the strange man who is hanging on some wood on the wall at her house. (we visited her house when we left the kid sleeping there to go out on Sat. night.)

We had an impromptu belated Chanukah/birthday gift exchange with the kids and the Aunt Carlye and Uncle Sam faction at our house on Rampart. We had just had the exterminator out (again) for roaches and we had torn the kitchen apart so he could spray everywhere. Entertaining in that situation was not the easiest. I couldn't find plates or cracker or much of anything. But we managed, and the kids loved feeding their handpainted piggy banks from Aunt Carlye. Eran REALLY loved the hand crocheted kippa so much that he put in an order for a green and white one. He later told me (I don't know why he didn't tell Carlye) that he had always wanted a handmade kippa and he is already getting ready to wear it.
I can't wait to enjoy my new book (Cool Jew) and bath products from the new line of Lush by Levine....all at the same time.
This gift fest went on at exactly the same time as a birthday party for one of Jonathan's best friends from his former school and tee-ball/soccer team, etc, but I didn't have the heart to tell anyone about that at the time. I think it was also too early for Jonathan to see his other school friends anyway. there is another birthday party scheduled this week that I will be sure to attend so that we keep up appearances.

We celebrated Dad and Carlye's birthdays at a restaurant that I have been intrigued to try for some time now. It was good, but did not live up to the hype for it that I had built up in my head. And Eran was suffering with a toothache and so he was totally not impressed.

Found out that the engineer who was at the same company as my former nemesis MM had the office directly across from her and was none too impressed with her work. That was right after he dumped a copying project that he didn't want to do himself on my lap. We seem to spend an awful lot of time just chatting with me looking wistfully out his window, but as long as the work gets done, no one seems to care all that much. He's the one my boss deemed to be requesting "rock star" salary and so I have secretly refered to him as rock star for a while now. Seems like maybe he's become new favorite engineer to work for. Although one of the other ones really wants to be my favorite since he always comes and chats with me in my cube.

Today, despite the flailing economy and volatile oil and gas prices, our company annouced its standard of living increase. They were originally going to take away our $100/month parking allowance raise from earlier, returning it to the starting $100/month allowance, but there was an outcry (not from me, altough losing that would have made my raise relatively insignificant) and they overturned that judgement. Also there were a spate of layoffs and it was announced that one of the satellite offices was being shut down.

And sometime in February I will actually get an office with a door. No promise of a window yet, all that needs to be ironed out by the big boys. Maybe it had something to do with the day I took an hour online training and in order for no one to bother me I put a piece of adding-machiune tape across my entry way with a note mentioning that I was in training and to come back later.
The current VP had a good sense of humor about it and I hope it was taken in the right way.

Interesting times for sure!

The rally that was to take place the same night as our birthday celebration garnered some 200+ members and the police wrote at least 12 tickets to the protestors on the other side of the stree. There was a rally planned tomorrow at the Israeli consulate, but it was moved because there is a protest now planned against the Holocaust in front of the Holocaust Museum. That is simply unacceptable! It is deliberatley planned on a Friday afternoon so the Jewish population can not counter it with great numbers. What an abomination, but admittedly a clever tactic.

Facebook friends from HS - Love em or hate em? I have one new one who I remember as being somewhat outspoken, who considers himself an activist - and despite my strong feelings about all that is going on in Israel, I am only one person. I attened the major rally at Beth Yesh and stood and sang and prayed with my people. But I am not one to draw attention to myself at this point where it could harm my children. As it is I am laughing off the anti-semitic remarks of my colleagues because what else am I to do. I go to my "bible study" once a week just like they do, but I have a political cause and agenda now which is a little uncomfortable place to be in for me. And I have friends and loved ones who are in a war zone with sirens and bombs and soldiers being injured and killed. I have always been the token Jew, but it now more than ever is a dicey situation to be in. I forget that not everyone is as knowlegeable as myself about the issues and I truly try to get a balanced picture before I make any statements, but I think that this is a deserved action and that HaShem is watching over us because of the minimal collateral damage and the relatively low rate of causalties/injuries to our side. How else do you explain that in such a fierce fire-fight?