bon voyage

I leave Austin in less than 72 hours. So, I guess it's time for a little update.

Let's just hit on the high points this time...
THE NEW ME: After many weeks of emails, phone interviews and lots of conversations, we hired an amazing JCSC Fellow to take my place. Her name is Kerin and she's from NY--clearly not just a Julia-clone. She came out to visit last week and we had so much fun. I showed her the ropes of Austin, though left her plenty to explore on her own. We went out downtown with Adam, met lots of students at random events, took part in a ridiculous staff game night and went on a driving tour of Austin with Katie, Sandi and Ari. I told Kerin that I secretly and selfishly wish she was the JCSC at UCSD so we could hang out all the time. :)
TRIP TO DC: I got to be part of the Spring Consultation for the JCSC Fellowship where we brainstormed and discussed ideas for changing the fellowship in the coming years. But, before I had 1.5 days of JCSCness, I spent a few days visiting friends. First, I went to see Kristen (a good friends since I was about 3), who is in law school at Georgetown. It was a treat to see her--we went out to lunch, talked and looked at scrapbooks and watched NCAA bball games at a bar with some of her friends. Then, it was off to Dupont to see Dan and Lizzy. We stayed in that night and just hung out. The next morning, we went to a VERY late brunch at a local restaurant. Dan got mimosa spilled all over him and Lizzy had some trouble getting the drink she ordered. But, in the end, after dan went home for a quick costume change, we had a nice meal and even got a free mimosa (I dont think they meant to, but too bad!). That afternoon we layed low, watched bball. Then came a little wine and scattergories (great game). Later that night we met up with Dorie for dinner, and then she wisked me away to college park to meet her man, Josh. He's not just her man, he's THE man--a great guy. The next day Dorie and I primped--Dorie got a massage, we went to a organic, gourmet lunch, got pedicures and just relaxed. Oh, and how can i forget the slice of heaven (read: cheesecake factory cheesecake) we shared. The perfect ending to a couple of great days with some of my favorites.
PASSOVER: I'm going to mostly "pass over" this topic, because it's not really all that interesting. Except to say that I coordinated Matzah Making and a sweet Chocolate Seder for students. And, in my personal life, I had friends over for Matzah Brei and Game Night. Good times for sure. Oh, and, Easter was the Sunday of Passover and I made the trip out to San Antonio to spend the day with the cousins. After some Easter games at church, Agi and Roger treated me to an amazing brunch at a beautiful hotel in San Antonio. It was so fun and sooo good--even with having to keep Kosher for Passover.
BOOK CLUB: We read Wicked and then The Glass Castle. But, more importantly, we had lots of fun gossiping (and talking a little bit about the books). I am really going to miss book club, especially since it's just basically a group made up of some of my closest friends in austin.
BOATS: there are two boat stories. First, Sarah's Boat Party. Good times on a party barge. Even though it was anything but warm, we managed to have plenty of fun. Plenty. Then, a couple of weeks ago, Sandi invited me to a get together/party on the lake. We got to go out on a ski boat and jump in the water from a rooftop. Super fun. Super.
LINDSEY, TAKE II: Lins came to visit for the second time. So, she didn't need to see Austin, per se. We were just able to play. And play we did. Party on the lake (as detailed above), night out DT with Jenna, amazing dinner at Cheesecake Factory, and a little shopping. Perfection.
ANNIE, TAKE I: Annie came, just in the nick of time. We had so much fun together--it had been too long! We went downtown with Sarah (after a fun dinner with AEPi boys), late night food at Kerbey Lane (with the best non-jewish waiter Chris), soccer game (annie played, illegally--shhhh don't tell the league!), Central Market outdoor concert, Whole Foods exploration session, Townlake exploration, UT campus exploration, etc etc etc, and lots of quality time. Plus, the knowledge that I will see her very soon in the Bay Area for Bay to Breakers.
BON VOYAGE: My last Shabbat at Hillel, the Year-End Banquet, last quality on-on-one chat with adam (over a nice dinner!!), lunch out with students to say bye, last dinner at El Chile with my girls (minus robin). It's all coming to an end. Yes, I'm a bit sad, but not in a sappy way--just sad knowing that I am leaving something great...my friends here, this great city, the students i LOVE, etc. But, this sadness is accompanied by the knowledge that I am going somewhere awesome, with many many people I love--and I can't wait! Dad comes in less than 72 hours to make the drive back with me, and the new XM radio. ;o)

See you in Cali.

It has been almost 2 months since I last updated the blog and I have so much to share.

After the 2.5 "ice days" (meaning no work, no school, no leaving the house), I had severe cabin fever and was anxious to get the semester started. "Rock the Boat," our big beginning of the semester event was cancelled and replaced with a more low-key "Spring Kickoff." A band called "The Skinny" came in from Florida--they're amazing, check out their myspace page--to entertain us and we had food and drinks to boot. The next evening was girls dinner out...to The Melting Pot, a fondue joint in north Austin. Six of us indulged in a 4 course fondue feast and had a lot of fun in the process.

With temperatures still barely breaking the 30s, I was questioning why I came to Texas. I thought this place was supposed to be the "armpit of America" or something. Aren't armpits supposed to be HOT? Mine certainly weren't! Even in the freezing cold, the Fresh Up Club still went out and won our first soccer game of the season, and have continued to dominate ever since (see state cup section below). Books and Babes also managed to meet to discuss the worst book ever (IMHOATOOAEEIBC--in my humble opinion and the opinion of almost everyone else in book club) "Fall on your Knees." It goes without saying that we still managed to enjoy ourselves and the food left nothing to be desired, especially the Mud Pudding complete with gummy worms (Robin had been craving it). Megan hopped on the Book Club band wagon which was a treat (and now she's as true member) and we had another special guest--moshe the mouse. It was quite a site to see...all the girls screaming and jumping on counters and couches. I will have you know that after lots of traps, poison, and extermination, we now have to "mouse problem" under control. I kinda miss the lil guys.

To start off February, I had a birthday party for the trees on campus for Tu B'Shevat (a Jewish holiday). I handed out mini cakes and had balloons and signs reading "Happy Birthday, Trees." I got a few questions and a lot of weird looks, but I guess that what being JCSC fellow is all about. That night I watched the bears play basketball...I think we lost, but it was nothing a fun night out (with alcohol) couldn't fix. And then it was superbowl sunday--oh how time flies--and I went over to the AEPi house (it's my job, but it's fun, too) to watch with the guys.

And then it was Barbie Party time. I held a Barbie Party for some of the girls in non-Jewish sororities...we ate pink cookies on barbie plates, drank punch from barbie glasses and watched "The Tribe" (http://www.tribethefilm.com/) a movie that tells the history of the Jewish people alongside the history of the barbie doll, which was invented by a Jewish woman. It was a fun evening that started some good discussion amongst the girls. Later on that week I went for a long walk with Katie at the lake, which was so nice--the weather was finally getting better. That night I met Whitney (my intern and friend) at BookPeople, a very cool Austin-y bookstore for a wonderful event. Here is the excerpt from the email I sent to a few people the next day:

"In late 2006, there was a short story contest in Austin and last night was the reception and reading. My student intern Whitney mentioned the event to me and I decided it could be a fun evening outing and a chance to check out Book People, a local Austin bookstore. After announcing the top 10 stories, the top 3 stories were read aloud,by the authors. The third and second place stories, about a sexually abusive stepfather and brutal war experience respectively, didn't resonate much with me. Then, the top story titled "Tuber" was read by the author--a cute,young guy named Mark Grayson Mayer. It's not often that I can totally clear my mind and focus on something, but these 15 minutes were different. I was totally captivated. I don't typically get into artistic expression--the lead singer in a band crooning into the mic doesn't turn me on and a dancer with great moves doesn't get me going. But Mark (not that we're on a first name basis) totally got me. His story really made me think about finding meaning in life and what moments really count. When you have a few moments, read his story.http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A444367."

That weekend I was off to the Bay Area for a weekend with the family. Grandma turned 85, and all the cousins (minus Shoshi and Magi, but including Agi and the babies), aunts and uncles came out to celebrate. I also had Shabbat dinner at Denises, ate lunch and scratched lottery tickets with lindsey at the Emeryville food court (eww!), reverted back to my college days with a night out with Kali and other XO gals, went out in SF with Jess Richman and saw a movie with the grandparents. What a wonderful weekend. :)

Just hours after getting back into Austin, I went with some friends to the UT basketball game. As usual, the Longhorns annihilated their opponent, and I taught the other gals a few of the cheers. Then it was valentines day. Thank goodness for good friends...Katie, Sandi, Sarah, Robin and I cooked a wonderful dinner, drank wine and gossiped. It was perfect.

And then, what seemed like moments later, Dorie was here. In Texas. To play.

Thursday, February 15th, I officially turned 24 and 1 month. And boy, did we celebrate. My parents treated me, Dorie, Robin, Katie, Sarah and Sandi to an amazing dinner at the Belmont and then we treated ourselves to a crazy night on the town. Highlight #1 was Robin's gift for me...an Explicit Frogz doll that sings a beautiful song: "Go shorty, it's your birthday, we gonna party like it's your birthday. Cause you know you we don't give a f*ck it's not your birthday." Classic. Highlight #2 was, well, the entire rest of the night.

The rest of Dorie's stay included: showing her off at Hillel, a campus tour, dinner out with Whitney and D.Rose (my intern and one of my students that Dorie knows), a quick trip to san antonio to see the babies and agi, a walk with Whitney at the lake, dinner at zTejas (and drinks--the best!), multiple rides on the pedicab (those things are a rip off, but boy are they romantic), brunch at Kerbey Lane and bargain shopping at By George (one of the most expensive boutiques in Austin...but Dors got the deal of the century)...and a few naps here and there!

I was then fortunate enough to meet Robin's parents and be treated to a healthy, hearty, organic-y meal at Mothers Cafe. Yum. The rest of the week was chuck-full of programs--Gin 'n Jews Happy Hour, dinner with the presidents of the Jewish greek houses, yet another Barbie Party, and on and on. Then, it was time for yet another guest...Rachael, a family friend who I have known since she was born (practically) came to visit. Since she is only 16, I had to change up the itinerary from the normal "lets see austin" plan. We managed to have a lot of fun. Thursday night we had some tex-mex at El Arroyo and then headed to Champions Sports Bar to try to catch the Cal basketball game. Sadly, though, they couldn't get it...and neither could Daddy's Bar. So, we just hung out there with Michael, my Cal fan friend and ate nasty friend food. lovely.

Friday Rachael was lucky enough to come along for a bunch of Israel Block Party errands with me and Jenna (the IBP chair and my good friend). We grabbed lunch at the Spicy Pickle and I shower Rach around the campus and gave her some time to get all the Texas gear she could ever want! That night we hung out at Hillel a bit for Shabbat before heading to Kerbey Lane for a late dinner with Jenna. Much later on, I took Rachael to the AEPi party (which was more of a get-together) so she could get a taste of college life at UT and I could spend some time with some of my favorite boys. The next morning she cheered for me at my soccer game and then we headed over to the UT baseball game. When you read it here, you may assume this was an easy thing to do. But we managed to get ourselves in quite the sticky situation when we only had $7 in ones and $1.05 in change to pay for the tickets, which should have been $10 total. oops! Once we made it in, Rachael was about ready to go because, in her eyes, it's not a baseball game unless you're eating funnel cake! No cash = no cake. But after the game, we treated ourselves to some TCBY, which was the perfect treat on a sunny day. That night, we met up with Adam and Dane to see a show at one of the theaters on campus. They showed the 5 films that were up for "Best Short Animated Film" for the Academy Awards. It was extremely entertaining, though pretty short. And, we got quite the rush smuggling in the candy we bought at 7-11. After that, we went to Austin Java for a late dinner and then back to Dane's house to hang out on his uber-comfy couch. The perfect end to a crazy weekend.

After Rachael was safely at the Austin airport, I headed over to Hillel to work on preparations for Israel Block Party. This was the start of a ridiculous week. I worked 15 hours each day from Sunday-Wednesday and then Thursday (the day of the party) I got to Hillel at 6am and left at 1am. But it was all worth it...IBP was the best ever...complete with Effys (the Israeli version of Waldo from Where's Waldo) everywhere!! Somewhere in the mix of IBP preparations, I took a few hours to go to Babes and Books (book club) at Julia and Sandi's apartment, which was a welcome break from the frenzy of the week. We ate some sort of fun fusion cuisine that Julia and her boyfriend created, talked about the book for about 3.4 minutes and then gossiped for a couple hours.

Friday I did a lot of sleeping--I think I took 3 naps before 3pm. That has to be some sort of record. And it's a good thing I did, because it was time for a crazy weekend...

Friday night after Shabbat at Hillel, I headed out downtown. Evan (a JCSC who also was student here at UT) was in town, so I met up with him and his friends on 6th street. We drank and danced, danced and drank and then I headed home. I got to sleep around 3:30am only to wake up at 6:15 am to leave for San Antonio for THE TEXAS SOCCER STATE CUP! Our first game was at 8:30am, and the Fresh Up Club (my team) kicked butt. After a short break, it was time for game #2, which we also won...which meant we would advance to the semi-finals the next morning. I spend the afternoon with Agi, Roger and the babies and then drove back up to the cabin where the team was staying. And by "staying" I mean "partying." Margaritas and mixed drinks in hand, we did karaoke and "bonded" over a game of truth or date or double trouble dare (and then did more karaoke). We finally got to sleep just in time to wake up at 6:30am for our game. Although some were hungover and others were feeling a little queasy (from the dare of drinking a raw egg with hot sauce), we managed to pull it out with a victory. So, we were on to the finals!!!!!

The finals were a piece of cake (I'm not being cocky, just honest) and we won 7-0 (or so). We celebrated our victory with a team photo in our CHAMPION t-shirts and some champagne. Then, we headed off to the local restaurant (we were in the middle of no where) for a team lunch. After a bunch of buckets of beer and some good burgers (chicken sandwich for me, in case you care) Lindsay, one of my teammates, got to sing a few songs--it was open mic night (day?). It was such a treat to hear her perform and the perfect ending to a fantastic weekend.

The drive home was long and painful, but I was thankful that my car isn't manual...because my legs ached too much to push a clutch in! Needless to say, I slept quite well Sunday night. But it was all worth it for the STATE CUP CHAMPIONSHIP!

67 days left in Austin (my dad is starting a countdown).
we are starting the hiring process for a new fellow.
I am starting to get a bit sad about leaving.
my how time flies.

Here is what I accomplished in the past 3 days...from Jan 11 at 7pm - Jan 14 at 3pm (this is NOT an under-exaggeration):
1. 3 loads of laundry
2. emptied my 2 trash cans into a big trash bag
3. pedicure and eyebrow wax
4. two workouts
5. purchased a new nalgene
6. watched top chef

But there is a reason I have done near nothing in the past 3 days...Here is what I accomplished from Dec 13 at 8am - Jan 11 at 6:59pm
1. flew from Austin to DC...Dorie picked me up from the airport in the evening. That night we had relaxed, knowing that would be the last relaxing night for a long, long time. Thursday we did some random errands, including making some special purchases (see photo). That night was Dorie's birthday part one. Everyone met at Adam's Mill for the night. I only say "everyone" because I randomly bumped into RJ (now "Ryan"), a guy I have known since 3rd grade and haven't seen for about 4 years. It made the night just that much more crazy and fun.

2. A whole brigade of us drove to baltimore to start 7 days of JCSCing. It was so nice to catch up with JCSCs I hadn't seen since august training. Saturday night was Dorie's birthday part two. As per the birthday girl's request, we all dressed in a jersey of our choice and headed out to our favorite bar--the power plant...but before we left the hotel, it was "Hall Crawl 2006." Dorie was given clues leading to different hotel rooms, each room hosting a different shot.

The "jersey girls" took over the stage that night. Enough said.

3. The rest of the conference is a blur, mostly because we were in the same hotel for a week, with limited contact with the outside world...and because JCSCs just know how to party. We learned during the day and had our fun at night. There were a few things that stuck out to me throughtout the week including: (a) watching my roomie/coworker/friend robin introduce one of the conference keynote speakers, in front of about 600 people. She was amazing! (b) introducing the panel for and attending the session on "The Tribe," a very hip documentary on the history of the Jewish people, by looking at the history of Barbie (the doll). You should check out the website, http://www.tribethefilm.com/index.html. (3) Berkeley Hillel winning the award for "the best place to work." It couldn't be more true, and I couldn't have been more proud. (4) Running up to my room for a wardrobe change with noga, mid-gala. (5) some quality talks with jay, my coordinator. Too bad he's married. i love jay. :) (see photo)

4. I flew back to austin on december 22. I was home (in austin) for only 3 days before leaving for home (in san diego). I did some laundry, saw friends and went to the matzah ball on christmas eve. I can't say it was my favorite event ever, but it was nice to catch up with friends and get word that my cal friend michael proposed to ilyse! Needless to say, the exciting part of the night was gawking at ilyse's ring.

5. On christmas morning, I flew to san diego. It was great to relax at home and see a few friends (sarah and lins, and even my sisters good friends, too). But, I must say, the most exciting part of my 4 days at home was obviously the bears' unmitigated victory at the holiday bowl. I'm convinced that the hideous blue and gold pedicures my sister and i got played a huge role in the win. I guess that means I will be getting tacky pedicures for seasons to come! The football madness started wednesday when the fam got to go to the team luncheon. We stopped by every table for photos with the players. Here's a sampling: dad with longshore (the qb) and me and mom with jackson...oh, and dad with his favorite sideline reporter, erin andrews.

That night, annie came to SD just in time for the cal pub crawl. We put on our cal gear and headed to Jolt 'n Joes to start the night off. We had a fun night with matt and jojo and other new friends and even learned a new bar game. It's called pool horse...ask if you want to know how to play! After a couple drinks there, we "crawled" to a few other bars for more drinks and dancing. The night ended with a "cheer off" between the cal fans and the a&m fans. Oski even showed up!

Then, it was finally game day. We started it all off at the holiday bowl balloon parade and then headed down to the tailgate. My parents helped sponsor the festivities...the keg states "keg beer: sponsored by richard & connie unger and family." The biggest treat, besides the cal victory, was having not only annie, but lindsey and jess there! After much pre-gaming, we made it into the game. And the rest is history (well documented history, since my dad tivo-ed it on both out TVs)!!!

6. The morning after the game, I flew back to austin to shop, pack and mentally prepare to leave for israel. It was quite a whirlwind...the next day I left for new york, and then the holy land. After the 10 hour flight (oh, I almost forgot--happy new year) my students started their 10 day experience, with me there to yell at them for being late, help them take in the sites, be the photographer, and encourage them to taste the foriegn food. I had a great time, not because it was neccessarily "fun." Rather, because it was very fulfilling to see my students soaking up the experience. Aside from the head colds, stomach issues (too much hummus??), perpetual late-ness, exhaustion, forgotten jackets and cameras, and obsession with taking advantage of the drinking age, we had a relatively smooth 10 days. I also got to see some of my JCSC friends and even got in a couple of morning jogs through jerusalem. I knew it was time to come home because I was thouroughly sick of schwarma and falafel.

...and now it's time for my last semester at UT. Enough said.

Oh the blog. I love my blog, but it’s so hard to get up the energy to update it. It’s 8pm on a Sunday night, I think I can do it.

I have to think back reallllly far to give the full update. Here are some highlights from the past month or so…

For the Halloween, I cooked up some food and had friends over for a little dinner party. No costumes, just relaxing and keeping warm. Later that week, Books and Babes broke out the wine and gourmet appetizers…once we get through eating and gossiping, we really do spend time discussing the book. I swear. Hillel co-sponsored Richard Dreyfuss coming to speak at UT, so I helped out with that and got to meet the man himself. He focused his speech on giving back to society and it was pretty interesting. He’s also very short. I went with Michael (my newest austin friend, and a fellow Cal grad and psycho fan) to watch the Cal/UCLA football game at Aussie’s, a cool sports bar here. Sandi came along, playing the part of an honorary Cal fan. The next week Sandi and I went to a BFF Party at a new restaurant/bar downtown. An event put on by one of the local radio stations, it was an attempt to help women (no men allowed!) meet other women! It’s hard to make girlfriends, because it can be really awkward. We made two new friends, so I’d say it was a productive evening. Noga came to viist that weekend, which was loads of fun. We did all the usual austin activities and she really got the true “welcome to Texas” when we saw a truck driving downtown with 7 college students chilling in the bed. This is legal in Texas, but I still don’t think it’s safe! She also got to experience Wurst Fest--a bratwurst festival. We listened to some quality german polka music and ate everything disgusting...including but not limited to: brats, fried oreos, funnel cake, fried cheesecake, potato pancakes, more brats. Then we went in for round 2 when agi and roger came with mags and zofia. The little girls got to ride on the carousel, which was a lot of fun to watch. Noga and I flew out to LA on Sunday for a training conference for staffing our birthright israel trips. I also got to see Annie and meet Noga’s crazy family and try Pink Berry yogurt. It was all impressive, minus the yogurt—it’s totally overrated. It’s this super trendy place and they only have 2 flavors—plain and green tea. Elch!!! After the conference, I was treated to a spur of the moment trip to San Diego to see the fam, if only for one day! That weekend Robin, Sandi and Katie and I spent the afternoon together shopping at a Christmas craft fair…then it was time for the much anticipated “housewarming party” hosted by me and Robin. We put on our sarongs and sunglasses, mixed up some mojitos and pretended it was summer. It was a great night, and even ended in a late night game of apples to apples. Sunday I hung out with katie making beautiful homemade Christmas cards. We’re so crafty! A few days later, it was Thanksgiving time, so the fam made their way to Austin. We had such a great time…we relaxed at Barton Creek Resort, Saw Bob Schneider in concert, ate turkey in San Antonio with more family, saw the Longhorns lose to A&M, explored Whole Foods, ate Tex-Mex at zTejas, saw UT kick butt in basketball, stayed up late 3 nights in a row to watch Cal WIN the televised games of the Great Alaska Shoot Out, drove to the middle of nowhere to eat Salt Lick BBQ. Time just flew by after Thanksgiving break, and now it’s December. The most exciting things to happen lately are: Book Club Part III, Ari randomly coming into town this weekend, finally going to Betsey’s Bar (a cool bar I’ve been wanting to go to) and Blue Star Cafeteria (hip new restaurant), scoring the winning goal in the last soccer game of the season (after a 2 season goal-scoring rut!!!!), AND looking forward to the next month:

DC: craziness for Dorie’s bday

Baltimore: JCSC conference—CAN’T WAIT!

San Diego: family, friends and the Holiday Bowl

Israel: excited, anxious, energized

Random Ramblings...

My newest favorite joke (you have to read it aloud):
What did tenna see?
Option 1: The same thing Arkan saw!
Option 2: I dunno, all laska!

In other news…Can you believe it’s almost 2007?

Happy Halloween, hair and more...

i can't believe october is over. i remember always hearing people say that time seems to pass quicker as you get older. i think i finally understand what they meant. maybe that means i am getting old.

speaking of feeling old...
this may seem trivial, but actually, it's kind of a big deal. last week, i got my first "real" haircut. well, that's kind of a lie. if you knew me in third grade, you remember my bowl cut (and if you didn't know me, i looked about 12 times LESS cute than the image at right). i was trying to be like my mom, but i think i just looked like a boy. okay, fine, so it was my second "real" haircut.

i went to a real salon (aka: not supercuts or great clips ot XYZ chain haircut store) called bliss. it's a little house that has been converted into a salon and it's owned & operated by one woman. i highly recommended it if you live in austin. oh, and (hint, hint) if you mention that i referred you, i will be one step closer to a free cut! anyway, my hair now has a style, which is a new concept julia "i have long, straight, brown hair" unger. i am getting used to it, and i think i like it. i know one thing for sure...it's better than "real" cut #1. :)

last weekend, i made a little trip out to northern california. i did a LOT in 3 days: breakfast with the fam at my grandparents house in SF, shabbat dinner at my aunt denise's, an evening out on the town with old friends, concert at hillel (and seeing some of my fav hillel staffers), cuddling with noga in her comfy bed, dinner (and dessert) at fentons with the fam and noga, adam and jess, relaxing in the berkeley rose gardens with noga, lunch with noga, kali and sloane, the march to victory before the cal game and then an awesome football game with the family. thank goodness the bears pulled out the W and remain the ONLY team still undefeated in the pac 10!

last week i started a course in Adobe InDesign, a graphic design program. it's been very enjoyable, and will be a welcome upgrade from designing flyers in Word. although it will be hard to say goodbye to wordart. i am taking this course because i a, possibly considering a "career" in graphic design. more to come on this...

i had an action packed weekend. friday night i went out downtown with my friend sarah her friend abby who was in town from NYC. even though i was up until about 2:30am, i managed to make it to my soccer game at 8am on saturday morning. later saturday afternoon i met agi, roger and the gals in gruene for lunch and then some outlet shopping for zofia and maggie. why are kids clothes so cute? i wish i could shop at osh kosh b'gosh. that night, sarah, abby and sandi came over to get our halloween on. we were a random bunch: one flight attendant, one cat, one french maid and one karate kid (that was me). hot.

other updates:
i am staffing a birthright israel trip this winter!
did i mention that cal is the only team in the pac 10 that remains undefeated?
i will be in LA in a few weeks and i want to see everyone there. the main day i have free (aka not at the conference i am going to) is wednesday, november 14th.

weekend withdrawl

this past weekend was pretty amazing. and pretty ridiculous. i went to DC--just to play. people looked at me wierd when i told them that. but yes, i went JUST for fun. we should all take vacations, even if we come back being more tired than when we left.

i left for DC friday morning before the sun came up and slept on the plane, even though i could have been watching "39 channels or direct tv" or listening to "197 channels of XM radio." oh, how i love jet blue. i arrived in the late afternoon, gave dorie a BIG hug and headed straight to the mall to get dorie some new sunglasses. then we headed out to maryland to have a nice, relaxing shabbat dinner with dorie's mom and dad. then we drove back to DC to dorie's apartment. this marks the point when we stopped being normal people, morphing into crazy JCSCs/wild college graduates/ridiculous 20-somethings. and boy did we do a good job. after a bit of showering and primping it was off to a bar to meet up with steve, dan, lizzy and ben. oh, and everyone that dorie has ever met. okay, so that's an exaggeration, but dorie's many lives came "crashing" together (college, high school, camp, jcsc, growing up...) at adam's mill. how could this not be fun? we spent most of the night on the third floor of the bar where the dance floor was located. was this fun? as dan and lizzy would say, "obv."

on saturday, we started out easy with lunch on the GW campus with dorie's crazy sorority sisters. and by crazy i mean CRAZY. i was tired and hungry and didn't contribute much to the conversation...but let me assure you they didn't need my input. they are an ongoing comedy show--i was just the audience. i was a little on the chilly side and decided it was neccessary to purchase some closed toed shoes before we headed off to the all-day bar crawl. after stopping at one (overpriced) boutique i decided i was more interested in starting the crawl than being warm...

11 beers, 5 bars, 33 photos (one with bud man) and 2 games of darts* later, we were off to Buffalo Billiards for some bear watching--CAL bears, that is. the DC cal alumni happened to choose Buffalo Billiards as their viewing spot, too, so we were surrounded by Cal love. Such a great game. We hung out a Lizzy's for a bit and then it was off to another area of DC to meet up with some of Dorie's other friends--she is one popular girl. :) on the way there, steve and i had fun with all the "stuff" in the back seat of dorie's car, including but not limited to: the book goodnight moon, one black glove, shiny star garland, an extension cord and some tissue paper.

the next morning, after a lovely brunch with our friend missy, dorie and i stopped by an antiques market, managing to stop at the one non-antique booth--the cookie lady. free samples...always good. then we went to some random irish pub to watch some pro football while sipping on water and diet coke. then it was definitely nap time followed by dinner at a wonderful indian restaurant with dorie's mom. later that night, dan, lizzy and steve came over to dorie's for dessert. a nice, classy way to end the ridiculous weekend.

monday morning dorie dropped me at the airport...

-----insert a "sad (boring, unimportant) 18 hour airport experience" here--------

...and then i got home to a good night's sleep at about 1am.

i was in weekend withdrawl for quite some time,, wishing i could go back in time and start it all over again. such good times with some of my favorite people.

now i suppose i should give an update for the month before i left for DC...

--joined katie at a happy hour to benefit the non-profit she works for and then hit up Beck's for Ian's bday celebration
--went to my first UT women's soccer game of the season with April and Ian #2 (friend and her husband)
--had our first real book club at katie's house. so fun...and we finished the night with a grey's anatomy viewing
--went to my first UT football game of the season thanks for andrew, and got to sit in ROW 2!
--had dinner at hoover's home cooking. yum.
--started and finished dkom's (our hillel executive director) basic judaism class
--survived high holidays, complete with a yom kippur fast
--got treated to a fun date with sandi at the amazing event "Food for Thought" (thanks katie!!)

that's the "quick" update. life is good.

*numbers are approximate.