My opinions, updates on my life, all sorts of "randomness"...

Well that was the most random thing ever... Was at Kinko's doing some work for Young Judaea, and was asking the man who worked there a couple questions before I left. He ended up asking my name, and this girl in line heard and asked if my last name was Cohen. "Shosh Cohen..." she said. okay kinda sketchy... "You probably don't remember me" true "we met when we were like 12" and you remember this??? "You're friends with Jon Bruner." I was so intrigued, and tried to continue the conversation, but that was it. She mentioned that her name was Erica, but then she went back to her purchases and in a daze I walked out of the store. Who was that girl, and why does she remember me when I have no clue who she is? What??!!! I guess you never know who's in Kinko's at 2 am...

"That's my ideal pet. An animated character from tv." ~~Keshet

I love Keshet...

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Hung out with the family and the Willets, watched a million episodes of Sex & The City, read the script for The Big Lebowski, and played this ridiculous game called "Wallyball" that's volleyball in a racquetball court. And oh yeah, and I went snowboarding. :) I went on Friday with Katie, and then again yesterday morning. Sure the snow was so horrible it was basically like skiing on a snow-cone, and went I went yesterday morning it was raining and so foggy you couldn't see more than two feet in front of you, but it was wonderful. I can't wait for it to be cold enough to go boarding here...

So I went online today and booked a plane ticket to Israel. Yup, I'm finally going back. December 28 through January 16. Crazy long flights (layover in England on the way there and a 17-hour layover in Switzerland on the way back), but reasonably affordable. So if anyone's going to be around then, I'd love to see you...

So excited!

Just wanted to say Happy Turkey Day to everyone!!! Hope you're all enjoying yourselves, whatever your plans are... I'm currently in Boston, heading to Vermont in the morning. 'Later y'all!

Sitting in the Northwest World Perks Club at Detroit Metro, waiting for our plane. Going to Bsoton/Vermont with my fam and the Willets. Very exciting. Hoping for cold weather, so I can go snowboarding.

Time to pack up and go catch our flight, so I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Turkey Day!!

Mitch's Place, this cute little bar in Ann Arbor, is closing for a few months and then re-opening in a new location down the street. There was an article in The Michigan Daily today. Best part of the article? It was totally focused on David Fox. Seriously. The entire article revolved around him. It began with:
"Tonight is David Fox’s favorite night at Mitch’s Place, mostly because of the live music. Fox, an LSA senior, enjoys the bar on Wednesday nights as well, but starting tomorrow, he’ll have to sip $1 pitchers elsewhere."
and ended with:
"For the next few months, Fox said he will just need to seek other options, doing without Mitch’s old bicycles and well-lit surroundings. “I will still go to the bars even though Mitch’s is closing. We must move on."

Love it.

But in all seriousness, it's kinda sad that Mitch's is closing. I used to live directly across the street when I lived in the apartment with Kimmie & Sam. Kimmie & I used to go Monday nights, after football season ended, when the place was empty. Avoided the crowds, just chilled at the bar, made friends with the bartender... It was nice. And the short walk home made it even better. Ah, memories...

"Locusts were first spotted Friday afternoon in the southern neighborhoods of Eilat and in the city's hotel district. Many residents called the municipality's hotline to report the arrival of the insects. "
Not a joke. Locusts invading Israel. Plague, much? (see the rest of the story here)

Dad's birthday is today--Happy Birthday Dad!

Time to go to my cooking class at Chabbad. So domestic of me, right?

Went climbing with Roth at Planet Rock today. Amazing. My arms are now so sore that typing is difficult, but that's part of the beauty of it all. :) Tried bouldering for the first time. Wow. So much tougher than it looks. And scary too, due to the lack of ropes and the fact that you actually fall to the ground if you fall. Not that I could really make it high enough up any of the routes to worry about that, plus there were mats on the ground, but it was still intimidating. I will definitely have to go back, especially now that I'm checked off on belaying and have my nifty Planet Rock "Top Roping" card, made out to "Shosha Cohen." Right...

Thanks to the beauty of Soft Scrub, my kitchen no longer makes me sick every time I look at the sink. sigh

Recently I was introduced to the wonders that are Friendster and Facebook. Two websites that both do basically the same thing: create a false sense of staying connected/reconnecting with people. You ask someone to be your "friend," they have the option to say yes or no, and then without ever talking to one another you're allowed to feel as though you have a large "social net" and lots of "friends." Sure there's that nice warm feeling when someone you haven't talked to in awhile asks you to be their "friend," but where's the actual interaction?

So clearly I'm guilty of continuing this ridiculousness, seeing as I've become mildly obsessed with both (so far 51 "friends" on Friendster, and 36 on Facebook!), but that doesn't mean that I can't recognize the absurdity of it all. Really what I should do if I wanted to act on these beliefs, is "message" the people I haven't talked to since high school that I'm now "friends" with, but there are so many of them that I feel like that will just increase my obsession...

My main point is that it's interesting how even friendship has entered a new era, where human interaction has been fazed out. Not needing human interaction for friendship, something that clearly is based on contact between people is insanely ridiculous.

On a different note, any local people that need a place for Shabbas dinner, you're invited to my place--just let me know!

Best commercial ever...

So I just wrote this crazy-long post, and then somehow managed to delete it before I could post it. And too be honest, I really can't bring myself to write it all over again. The summary? Keshet's hysterical and Mrs. J taught an awesome shiur (class) on this week's parsha, focusing on gratitude. Maybe I'll try and write it again tomorrow...

Shabbat Shalom!

This afternoon Keshet & I watched The LIzzie McGuire Movie. So I realize this exposes me as the twelve-year-old I really am at heart, but I love that movie. I mean, sure it's ridiculously cheesy, but...well, it's ridiculously cheesy! Entertaining, fun music, happy ending... I mean, come on, how can anyone pass that up? I'm sensing that I'm pretty much alone on this (although Keshet watched it with me, so I can't be totally alone, right?) so I'm going to blame this on the fact that it's 2:30 a.m. and head to bed.

Years ago at AIPAC Policy Conference I met this kid who went to YU. He sent me a copy of this hysterical song his friend in Israel, Dov Rosenblatt, wrote called "Flippin' Out", all about kids at Yeshiva in Israel. Great song--totally loved it since it was just so true. So I was looking around online the other day, and came across the song. Turns out that Dov's in this band called Blue Fringe that sings "Flippin' Out" (along with other songs). They're not bad--check out their music on their website.

"This baking is tough work. I'm just glad we don't have to churn butter nowadays." ~~Keshet

Been thinking a lot about "comfort foods." What are the foods you turn to when things aren't going the way you want? Foods that remind you of something, foods that make you feel a certain way. Thinking about it makes me realize the randomness of some of mine. Specifically, Starbucks. When I woke up today, feeling shitty about the election, I headed to Starbucks. Triple grande white chocolate mocha helped calm me down. Ridiculous, right? A cup of coffee should not make me feel better. Maybe it's just the familiarity of it, something that makes sense. Especially since this election clearly did not make sense.

I'm truly disappointed in our country. Forgetting about the presidential election for a minute, let's talk about the proposals. Specifically Prop 2 in Michigan, and the rest of the "it's not that we want to tell you how to live your life, as long as it's the way we want you to live your life" anti-same-sex marriage proposals. Are you kidding?? People are really that closed minded???

Back to the presidential election, Brooke sent me this link to this great map. Love it.

Our poor country...

Election Day. Go vote. Regardless of who you planned on voting for, regardless of who you say you're voting for, regardless of whether or not you are confident in your candidate, just vote. If the last presidential election taught us anything, it's that your vote really does count. Thus far I've avoided talking about the election here. Most of you know I'm voting for Kerry--I've tried to convince many of you to do the same. But this election has so many people divided that I decided to just stay out of all the debates here and not write about it. Since election day is finally here, it's time for the topic to be addressed.

This election has the potential to divide our country, our houses. Don't let it. Regardless of who wins or what your role was in that victory, don't allow it to tear people apart. Don't be afraid to share your views, but don't take it personally if people disagree with you. We learned this in kindergarden--play nice with one another.

The vast majority of you already know who you're voting for, and nothing I say here could affect that. And if you still haven't decided, good for you. It's easy to get swept away by other people's opinions and not take the time to think about what you want for yourself, and what you really believe. Think it over, review platforms, make a decision, and feel free to keep your decision to yourself.

While I was at the gym last night, I listened to the Presidential debates again on my iPod (quick thanks to Mom & Dad for my iPod!). I've been speaking to enough undecided voters, that I wanted to listen one more time. I've never doubted who to vote for, despite the fact that in many ways I'm voting against Bush rather than for Kerry, but listening to them speak again reassured me that I'm making the correct decision. Kerry is the best choice for president.

I'm going to go to the polls, but I'll leave you with this:

"People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people.  Of course, that is not true.  Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing." ~~Walter H. Judd

Make yourself heard--vote.