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Oct. 4th, 2003 11:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancingyelthis week was awesome. no extraordinary events, but just a really good week. i'm happy, really happy. consistently happier than i've been in a while, outside of bci, where i was just happy a good deal of the time because it was such a great place. i'm not sure what's causing it, but i'm certainly not complaining. and the funny thing is, there are still things i worry about, still lots to do, school work and lots of thinking about life and values and such, but it's not getting to me the way it usually does. i know it's just the beginning and it will probably get worse around test times and stuff, but right now, optimism seems to be working wonderfully. i'm enjoying my life, and that's all there really is to it.
highlights of the week:
sunday: heard the shofar
monday: first command staff meeting (for me, since i missed last week's)
tuesday: made the nationals team! that was so exciting! i wasn't sure if i would because it depended on who'd show up and stuff, so i'm so happy about it! also, ran into josh and nodav (i hope that's his name) and had a good chat with them...really nice guys, both of them, and now i have a standing invite to hang out with them after dance. also, talked to my partner for this learning program called "Partners in Torah." we had a really good conversation, just getting to know each other a bit. she's an actuary in new york, a year out of college, and fairly observant and more informed than i am, which is nice. she's also someone who's very logical and mathematical. it's funny...i think she'd get along with sam well (sam from berkeley, not sam joe, although she'd probably get along with sam joe, too.) i'm looking forward to our weekly conversations.
wednesday: talked to a child development lab and set up a 199 position for winter...this is really cool because i'll get to work with 3 and 4 year-olds! the lady felt bad because she said she'd have a place for me this quarter, but then she found out she doesn't...but it's actually better for me this way. this quarter is pretty nutty for me, but next quarter should be somewhat calmer. yeah. happiness!
thursday: tryouts started, and i had a really good time...since i'm on command staff, i have to be all friendly and all, and being really friendly to over a hundred people made me rather hyper. so, by the end of the night, i was bouncing of the walls! but it was great....we had a good turn out, a good amount of guys, and even some guys i knew. weird story: i met this guy, ilan, last year at the israel day festival. the reason i remember him is that he was helping people spell their names in hebrew to put on necklaces or bracelets, and he was amused because my hebrew name (elana) is spelled like his except for an extra aleph at the end. so i remember him because of that. a couple of days after the festival, i had a random really vivid dream about a guy named ilan (same name, but in the dream, it wasn't him) trying out for the dancesport team. i remember the dream because it was strangely vivid, one of those dreams that stick out. so guess who i see thursday, at tryouts? that's right, ilan! i was like, "whoa...." except i didn't say that. weird, weird. i didn't even know he danced. but in case, tryouts were great.
friday: first day at the pigeon lab! the pigeons are quite adorable and amusing, but very energetic. i spent quite some time chasing them around with nets, since i'm still clumsy with them. i guess when i get used to transporting them, it'll be easier and go quicker. the grad student i work for is also really amusing...he's a nice guy, really excited about his research and the pigeons, so much so that he is now in mind called "the pigeon man." it was a good first day. shabbat was also lovely, it was nice to be back and also nice to hang out with some of the tga girls...no one gave me a hard time about not being in the sorority anymore, which is really comforting. after that, i went home with the intent of watching tv and then going to bed, but then vic chu called and said he was in town and i should come to afternavs, so how could i not come? heh...i hadn't seen him all summer, so i really wanted to hang out with him. afternavs turned out to be really cool. we played kickball and capture the flag, which wasn't all that cool, but then i had a couple of really good conversations with people, and that made coming worth while. chatted with daniel, sam joe's roommate...he's a really nice guy, easy to talk to. he might take cin and me to ikea! heh. also talked to carlan, which was great. we had a really good conversation about religion and differences in views on proselytizing between jews and christians...it's good to talk to someone like him because we can talk without things being taken personally...like i don't feel that he's attacking me when he's disagreeing, and i don't feel like i have to get defensive or attack back. it was really nice to have that...he's great to talk to. and of course, i got to chat with vic chu for a little bit, which is always great. nice friday.
conclusions i've come to this week: 1) i'm really glad to be living with the people i'm living with. you all know i like being roommates with cindy, and that hasn't changed. i also love the rest of the girls in the apartment. i feel like i learn so much from shelley, both in terms of religion, and just in general. we have really good conversations...we did last year, too, but now that we're living together, it's easier. abby is really funny and cracks me up all the time. mary is a sweetie, so nice and really thoughtful. it's just a good group, and the place already feels like home.
2) i talk to strangers a lot. heh. that sounds bad. i don't actually talk to random strangers on the street, but i'll talk to people in my classes, people on the shuttles, stuff like that. i generally don't start the conversations, but i'll definitely continue them if the other person starts. my mom says it's a good thing since it means i'm easy to talk to, so i'll be a good psychologist. i think it's kinda funny, but in a good way. of course, it can be odd...like when the grad student whose lab i'm a research assistant in proceeded to tell me all about his and his wife's infertility problems. that was really something i did not need to know. like really really didn't. yeah. heh. grad students are odd.
3) people enjoy my enthusiasm. the lady at the child development lab said that she really wanted to have me in the lab because i seemed really outgoing and nice. the people at tryouts were amused at me, but ( i hope) in a good way. the grad student i work for said it was nice to have an excited research assistant. so yes. i guess being hyper can be useful.
4) like i said in the beginning, life is good. i think my goal for the coming year is to keep this feeling close to the surface so i can use it when i'm feeling down. yeah. this rocks. i am happy.
highlights of the week:
sunday: heard the shofar
monday: first command staff meeting (for me, since i missed last week's)
tuesday: made the nationals team! that was so exciting! i wasn't sure if i would because it depended on who'd show up and stuff, so i'm so happy about it! also, ran into josh and nodav (i hope that's his name) and had a good chat with them...really nice guys, both of them, and now i have a standing invite to hang out with them after dance. also, talked to my partner for this learning program called "Partners in Torah." we had a really good conversation, just getting to know each other a bit. she's an actuary in new york, a year out of college, and fairly observant and more informed than i am, which is nice. she's also someone who's very logical and mathematical. it's funny...i think she'd get along with sam well (sam from berkeley, not sam joe, although she'd probably get along with sam joe, too.) i'm looking forward to our weekly conversations.
wednesday: talked to a child development lab and set up a 199 position for winter...this is really cool because i'll get to work with 3 and 4 year-olds! the lady felt bad because she said she'd have a place for me this quarter, but then she found out she doesn't...but it's actually better for me this way. this quarter is pretty nutty for me, but next quarter should be somewhat calmer. yeah. happiness!
thursday: tryouts started, and i had a really good time...since i'm on command staff, i have to be all friendly and all, and being really friendly to over a hundred people made me rather hyper. so, by the end of the night, i was bouncing of the walls! but it was great....we had a good turn out, a good amount of guys, and even some guys i knew. weird story: i met this guy, ilan, last year at the israel day festival. the reason i remember him is that he was helping people spell their names in hebrew to put on necklaces or bracelets, and he was amused because my hebrew name (elana) is spelled like his except for an extra aleph at the end. so i remember him because of that. a couple of days after the festival, i had a random really vivid dream about a guy named ilan (same name, but in the dream, it wasn't him) trying out for the dancesport team. i remember the dream because it was strangely vivid, one of those dreams that stick out. so guess who i see thursday, at tryouts? that's right, ilan! i was like, "whoa...." except i didn't say that. weird, weird. i didn't even know he danced. but in case, tryouts were great.
friday: first day at the pigeon lab! the pigeons are quite adorable and amusing, but very energetic. i spent quite some time chasing them around with nets, since i'm still clumsy with them. i guess when i get used to transporting them, it'll be easier and go quicker. the grad student i work for is also really amusing...he's a nice guy, really excited about his research and the pigeons, so much so that he is now in mind called "the pigeon man." it was a good first day. shabbat was also lovely, it was nice to be back and also nice to hang out with some of the tga girls...no one gave me a hard time about not being in the sorority anymore, which is really comforting. after that, i went home with the intent of watching tv and then going to bed, but then vic chu called and said he was in town and i should come to afternavs, so how could i not come? heh...i hadn't seen him all summer, so i really wanted to hang out with him. afternavs turned out to be really cool. we played kickball and capture the flag, which wasn't all that cool, but then i had a couple of really good conversations with people, and that made coming worth while. chatted with daniel, sam joe's roommate...he's a really nice guy, easy to talk to. he might take cin and me to ikea! heh. also talked to carlan, which was great. we had a really good conversation about religion and differences in views on proselytizing between jews and christians...it's good to talk to someone like him because we can talk without things being taken personally...like i don't feel that he's attacking me when he's disagreeing, and i don't feel like i have to get defensive or attack back. it was really nice to have that...he's great to talk to. and of course, i got to chat with vic chu for a little bit, which is always great. nice friday.
conclusions i've come to this week: 1) i'm really glad to be living with the people i'm living with. you all know i like being roommates with cindy, and that hasn't changed. i also love the rest of the girls in the apartment. i feel like i learn so much from shelley, both in terms of religion, and just in general. we have really good conversations...we did last year, too, but now that we're living together, it's easier. abby is really funny and cracks me up all the time. mary is a sweetie, so nice and really thoughtful. it's just a good group, and the place already feels like home.
2) i talk to strangers a lot. heh. that sounds bad. i don't actually talk to random strangers on the street, but i'll talk to people in my classes, people on the shuttles, stuff like that. i generally don't start the conversations, but i'll definitely continue them if the other person starts. my mom says it's a good thing since it means i'm easy to talk to, so i'll be a good psychologist. i think it's kinda funny, but in a good way. of course, it can be odd...like when the grad student whose lab i'm a research assistant in proceeded to tell me all about his and his wife's infertility problems. that was really something i did not need to know. like really really didn't. yeah. heh. grad students are odd.
3) people enjoy my enthusiasm. the lady at the child development lab said that she really wanted to have me in the lab because i seemed really outgoing and nice. the people at tryouts were amused at me, but ( i hope) in a good way. the grad student i work for said it was nice to have an excited research assistant. so yes. i guess being hyper can be useful.
4) like i said in the beginning, life is good. i think my goal for the coming year is to keep this feeling close to the surface so i can use it when i'm feeling down. yeah. this rocks. i am happy.
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no subject
Date: 2003-10-04 07:09 pm (UTC)LOL...dearie, it's spelled enthusiasm, which you definitely have a lot of, and are not queit, nor are your smilles infestimal...
Re:
Date: 2003-10-04 11:23 pm (UTC)well, no, not really. i'm still happy. heh. humph, anyway, though for teasing me about my spelling. you have to admit, i've gotten better.
Re:
Date: 2003-10-04 11:24 pm (UTC)