It’s 3:00 A.M. and I want to go to be-eh-ed…
Ok not exactly, but it took some time to recover from the weekend’s festivities (Monday wasn’t terribly restful either, but that’s another story). It’s really amazing what getting out and hanging with lots of good old friends can do for one’s disposition. The short summary is that everything was energizing, entertaining, and even enlightening at times.
The long version is, well, longer.
For all those interested I’ll be celebrating Groundhog’s Day a little early this year and finally leaving the hermitage for some much needed human interaction. Among the highlights:
I’ll try to recap If I’m conscious on Monday, but if you’re around any of these things please stop on over for a shmooze.
As a public service for those who complain that I’m too difficult to shop for, I’m hereby publicizing my Amazon Wish List and linking to it on the sidebar. Yeah, you could probably get stuff cheaper at Walmart or elsewhere, but people seem to like Amazon.
So if you’ve been pondering what to get your favorite socio-religious, guitar-playing, inconsistently blogging Rabbi, you now know where to go.1
1. If you’re not into the whole gift-giving thing, I’ll just pull out Proverbs 15:27 (sonei matanot yichyeh). I win either way.
Ever since I returned from Chicago I’ve been trying to move back to New York. Until now I’ve been staying in Springfield, which has had it’s advantages, but it’s really not a long term solution. However, I’ve been finding that moving back to NY after a few years isn’t as simple as it used to be.
The first obstacles were short term logistical ones. I needed to wait until the job came through and I had an income. Then I was sent out to Seattle and came back just in time to get hit with the hagim.
Most of my time and energy since then has been directed to fighting the old adage that “you can’t go home again.”
Unfortunately, the adage has been winning handily.
The recent trip to Seattle went off with out too much excitement. Sure there were definitely some ups and downs along the way, but the over experience wasn’t terribly unpleasant. The really short version is that Seattle is largely a combination of unbridled beauty and mind-numbing stupidity – everything you’d expect from the major city in a state whose official gem is petrified wood.
Many thanks to everyone who helped out with their suggestions. I’ll spare the gory details up here, but if you’re really interested in my exploits, observations, and digital photography, feel free to read on.
Hey Loyal Readers,
A lot has been going in in YUTOPIA land recently and it’s time to catch up a bit.
That just about covers everything major. With the trip and hagim coming up, I’m in somewhat of a holding pattern until things settle down and have to hold off on several plans until then.
Until next time….
1. Technically, it wasn’t a single’s event but that was the perception of many of the people there.
Now that it’s the month of Elul and we’re officially pre-Yamim Nora’im mode, you’re probably going to find many calls for increasing charity. As we say in the liturgy, along with repentance and prayer, charity can undo the negative decrees, and we get to help out those less fortunate in the process. It’s a win-win for everybody.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), there is no shortage of charitable organizations out there. The problem from the giving end is figuring out which charities are more deserving than others. Not only is there the near impossible question of what causes to support, but also which organizations best fulfill their stated mission.
While we can’t answer the first question for you, we can help out with the latter thanks to the good people at Charity Navigator.
Based on their detailed methodology, Charity Navigator uses tax returns to calculate the economic efficiency of a given organization. For example, they take into account how much money goes into fundraising vs. how much they receive, total expenditures towards programming, and administrative costs. Frankly I’m a little confused with the numbers myself, but the logic behind them seems to make sense.
As a public service and sheer curiosity, here is how some well known Jewish organizations rank in their system. Just remember that this only evaluate organizational efficiency and NOT the quality or merit of their mission.
I’ve barely been back at Information Builders when I was assigned my first ever business trip. From September 18th-28th (maybe the 29th depending on flight), I will be in Seattle. I’m not sure yet where I’m staying, but it will probably be in the downtownish area. Also, I suspect I will have a rental car at my disposal.
I’ve found some info on the web, but if any loyal readers can help out with any of the following, it would be greatly appreciated:
Many thanks in advance.
More posts are forthcoming. One of the downsides of working is the unfortunate lack of free time.
For all those interested, tonight is the End The Madness talent show featuring an extremely rare live performance by myself. If you’d like to know why the performances are rare, stop by KJ (125 East 85th St.) at 6:30 PM and hear for yourself.
In all seriousness, it should be a fun evening and I’m looking forward.
And yeah, I know I’m behind in regular blogging yet again. The past few weeks have been crazy with the niblings (who got back all right – pics forthcoming), school work, and currently a return to “real work.” Lots to write about, but sadly no time.
To allay the fears of the loyal readers, everything is fine but really busy. I’m trying to finish off the albatross of the thesis before I start working on Monday, spending time and schepping nachas with the niblings (pics forthcoming), and practicing my “act” for the talent show.
On the plus side, there is much going on worth writing about once the required stuff gets out of the way so stay tuned.