Being Jewish during the Holiday Season

First of all I'd like to thank society for referring to this time of year as "The Holiday Season". As if anyone cares about any other holiday besides Christmas during "the most wonderful time of the year." I'm going to be honest, Hanukkah is one of my least favorite Jewish holidays. Yes it's true that it always gets overshadowed by Christmas, but the thing is, it SHOULD get overshadowed by Christmas. Yay! The oil burned for eight days instead of one! I'm sorry but the birth of the person (or g-d, don't want to offend anyone) that basically a whole religion is centered around...kind of more important than oil burning.

Hanukkah is not the biggest and most important Jewish holiday on the calendar but it's still there. We still light the candles for eight days straight and say the prayer. We still bake latkes and spin the dreidel to celebrate the eight "crazy" nights. There is still some celebration!

The thing about the holiday times is that I am constantly asked what my opinion on Christmas is. I have plenty of Jewish friends who LOVE Christmas and that's great! Better to love another religions holiday than be against it. The fact of the matter is, I don't really have an opinion on Christmas. I don't love to watch all of the movies on Hallmark about the couples who fall in love once they kiss under mistletoe. I can name probably three reindeer off the top of my head and I'm not a big fan of the Christmas lights. Unless they are on a tree or set up in a magnificent wonderland, I don't see the hype about them.

I used to really enjoy Christmas music. My sister and I used to dance around with our American Girl dolls to every song that played on 93.9 Light FM. Now? I can do without it. I'm not in an any cheerier mood during this time of year. Some of my friends get confused that this time of year doesn't affect me.

My biggest problem is the gifts. Hanukkah is not meant to be a gift exchanging holiday. It only became that way because the little Jewish kids started to feel left out of the Christmas activities. And then viola! Parents now feel obligated to buy AT LEAST eight presents for each of their children. I stopped receiving presents when I was 11. And personally I'm okay with that. I get enough "presents" throughout the year. Like in August when my dad gave me $20 to go to red robin and liquid fusion. Thanks for the early Hanukkah present! It's completely unnecessary to give presents all eight days of Hanukkah. That is the only thing about the influence of Christmas on Hanukkah that urks me.

Being a Jew on Christmas is like being a Jew on any other day of the year. Unless Hanukkah happens to fall on the same day, like this year. (mark your calendar) It's like every other day of the year except we are imprisoned in our homes because anywhere we would want to go is closed. The only open places are movie theaters and Chinese restaurants. So yes, many Jewish people do the thing that is expected and spend their day in the movie theater and their nights feasting on egg rolls and sweet and sour chicken. But like I said, being a Jew on Christmas isn't special. It's just another day.

Honestly it's the build up that effects us the most. It's the red ribbons and wreaths. It's the jolliness and poor displays of twinkle lights around our neighborhoods. It's the constant Christmas music that plays in the common area of the High School. Just when you think you can escape, here's the place that you spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, throwing a ball of Christmas cheer at you while you're trying to do homework and eat lunch.

Christmas is great for the Jewish people because we don't have to worry about getting coal in our stocking. I can be as naughty or as nice as I want and NOTHING extra will happen on the 25th of December. Also, we knew Santa wasn't real for our whole life. Our parents never had to break our hearts with the bitter news that they were the ones who spent the money and became secret spies in order to get us the PERFECT gift. Never happened. Never will. They sure dodged that bullet. Seriously, Santa Claus? I just don't get it. But it's okay! I don't have to get it! As long as we respect it and stay in our place for this merry holiday, we're fine!

So, to recap:
-No Santa
-Chinese and Movies

Yeah that sounds good.

To end I'd like to say thank you to all of the stores that give Hanukkah a section of their Christmas aisle. We're a blue speck in a sea of red and green but at least we're there. So, on Christmas, you might not see the Jews. But trust me, we're there.

Adjusting to College

I knew adjusting to college life would be hard but it's more bizarre. Going from six classes a day to five classes a week wasn't as big as a transition as I thought it might've been. It's the same amount of work and I'm still at Starbucks every single day doing my homework.

The biggest challenges is the sleeping and eating. I tell this to my high school friends all the time . You will forget to eat. I have been up since 9:30am and it is now 5:00pm. I forgot to eat today so when I got to Starbucks I had a piece of coffee cake. That has been it today. I don't do it on purpose. I just forget!

Additionally, the sleeping is different.  When I'm not doing homework or eating, I'm sleeping. I have never slept so much in my entire life. But the thing is, I'm always tired. It's like as soon as I got to college I turned into an infant. I now have to sleep 11 hours a day in order to be aware and alert. And after that 11th hour, I am still tired. Literally it's so weird.

Another change has been the social change. I actually have to go out and hang out with actual people. Everyday I am very surprised at how much I socialize. In college, you have no choice. You are constantly surrounded by students and people. There is no escape like there was in high school. You can't just leave the building and instantly feel a sense of relief because you can get away from it for a bit. You can't go to your room and sit by yourself and not have any contact with anyone. Because in college, you are always at school. That's DIFFERENT! You aren't always in class but you are ALWAYS at school no matter what. There is no getting away from it for a bit. Also, you have a roommate or roommates OR A WHOLE GREEK HOUSE OF PEOPLE. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I love my roommate, my friends, and my sorority, but trying to get away from the constant socializing and sit in isolation for a second is VERY hard.

Something I have found helpful is being able to find a place on campus where I can sit in peace. For me, it's a bench in the botanical gardens. I don't tell anyone when I'm there and I decide to go spontaneously. I go sit, I think, and I reflect. That's my me time. Until it gets interrupted by the Kung Fu class that feels the need to practice there. I also don't know what I'm going to do when it snows but hey, we'll cross that road when we come to it.

My adjustment to college was about the little things. I didn't cry of homesickness, or wish I was home in my bed. I never agonized over the fact that all of my friends are spread out across the country. I have just been concerned with eating, sleeping, an socializing. All in all, I feel i have adapted to my new habitat well and look forward to future endeavors in the EL.

 

What can I getcha?

I want to be a bartender. Yes, I have other dreams like writing a book and traveling the world but, learning how to bartend has always been a goal of mine. When I was younger my dad used to challenge me to pour a bottled beer into a glass with minimum bubbles. It became something that I enjoyed doing. It's the little things right?
And you usually enjoy things you're good at. I was a natural. No bubbles rested around the rim.

Over the years I have gotten better at this god given talent of mine. I eventually got to the fun stuff. Opening bottles of alcohol in a cool and smooth way. I'm still working on it but sometimes I can pop a top off of a beer at lightning speed.

Anyway, like I said, I have always wanted to bartend. Bartenders make people happy. They supply people with an item that changes their mood. They are fun and give the gift of entertainment. There is always a wise bartender in every good movie. You know what I'm talking about. When the main character is in a rut and they think drinking their sorrows away is the best option. But then the hero of the story, the bartender, comes by and gives him life changing advice that makes the main character question everything about their decisions. Then the character throws back the final sip and thanks the tender for everything. BAM. LIFE CHANGING.

That's what I want to be. The wise bartender. But I also want to be the cool bartender. The one that the regulars always come in to see. Additionally, I want to be able to mix cool drinks and pour beers just right for all my friends when I'm older. Like when none of my twenty something friends know I can bartend and I just whip a bottle of vodka around like I'm one of those samurai chefs. Imagine how blown their minds will be. Jaws will drop.

People usually think that bartending is something you do when you can't find a job and have nothing else to do. I actually have no problem with being a bartender on the side while I do my other work. Business during the day, party at night. I think that bartenders are very admirable people. They have to deal with drunk idiots all the time and don't usually complain.

I don't even really like drinking so this is also a little ironic. SO NOW I MUST DO IT. And you bet your bottom dollar right when I turn 21 I'm signing up for bartending school.

But seriously whenever I have made a bucket list bartending has always been at the top of it. And then learning how to play the drums is right under it. I have no rhythm so that's going to be a difficult one. Then comes traveling the world and then my career. I know it's a funky order but it's something I have always wanted to do. How cool would it be to be a bartender in another country?? I'd be foreign AND the person supplying you alcohol. BONUS POINTS!

Right now I don't have a lot of talents. When I learn how to bartend and then maybe the drums, I'll be a woman of MANY talents. THAT is so exciting to me.

Lindsey; A woman of many talents
That'll be the title of my autobiography.

Anyway, thank you for reading my little spiel. It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately and just wanted to put it out there. Check out my bar in the future. I don't know where it'll be or what it'll be called but I will own a bar at some point in time. ;)

I don't want to be this intense but wow!
LOOK AT HOW COOL!

Halloweekend: Halloween at College

I don't know what I expected Halloween at college would be like but here's something new; I had a fun weekend. Me! Lindsey Rabinowitz. The girl who hates Halloween and hates being up past 10pm actually has a fun Halloweekend.

The festivities started Thursday night. A SCHOOL NIGHT!!! Spooky. Naturally, I dressed up as a hippie.

And I fucking killed it. We left the dorm and headed to PARTAY. Just kidding mom...not really. Anyway, apparently the party wasn't "lit" enough so we waited in the CVS for about an hour. First of all, I'm a freshman. I don't need the party to be "lit". I did nothing ever in high school so even a little bit of dancing while holding a red solo cup filled with just soda (alcohol is poison) was enough for me.  The waiting around wasn't ideal but in the end it was probably worth it. We got to the PARTAY and let me tell you, it was kinda "lit". It was a great night with great friends, great tunes, and some great photos. Thank you frat party for making my Thursday night not so boring. 

On Friday night we went to yet ANOTHER frat party. This day I decided to continue to keep it kosher and dressed as a Park Ranger.

This is the same night my friends and I developed a new game. Every time we saw someone dressed as Harley Quinn, we would punch each other. Super fun game right?!? Anyway, this frat party was a pain in my behind. First of all this whole "ratio" thing is ridiculous. Three girls for everyone one guy is rude. Girls like their options too. And I mean gee whiz too much estrogen in the room and all our cycles will match up. No boy wants that. So it was a pain in the ass to make our way through the crowd of sweaty, half dressed college students to get to the door. The guy let us in because "ratio". We were in there for about fifteen minutes and then the fire alarm went off.
"You guys like the cops? Get off the property!!" Nice kids.

The remainder of the night we just walked around and punched each other in the arm. Not the ideal second night of Halloweekend but it was still fun.

Saturday and Sunday night I decided to stay in. Too tired from the previous two days of PARTAYING. I mean Halloween wasn't until Monday. I need to study and clean and do other things. College Halloween is fun but it's also a lot of pressure because it's like a five day event. Five late nights, five different outfits. Like WHAT.

Monday night aka All Hollows Even and I had nothing to wear. Eventually, I decided to go to my roots and be a material girl.

It was perfect other than the fact that I was freezing but whatever. We went to like an annex house so like these frat boys who don't live in their frat house, live in this house. Once again, eh. I mean it was fine. I think I was just tired. I wanted to show my outfit off though so it all worked out. We were about to leave but we were just standing outside and I got bored so I decided to sit in the middle of the sidewalk. One of the boys said to my friends "make sure she's alright and stuff". I got up in an instant and thanked him for his concern but I  was 150% sober. I was just bored and wanted to sit down. Story of my life. People thinking I'm drunk when I'm not. It happens more often then it should. 

Halloween at college was kind of underwhelming. I liked dressing up everyday and seeing everyone's costumes but I guess I was expecting a little more hype. All in all, it was a pretty good Halloweekend. 

And I got to spend the whole holiday with the crew. :)

OH YEAH! There was the Michigan/Michigan State game too!!

What a weekend.