Today, I took the husband into an agency called "Extras Only". They are, as the name may suggest, a casting agency that specializes in casting extras for films and television. We live in a town that the show leverage is filmed in. Now, I have never seen the show and I have no idea what it is about. I imagine I should at least try to catch an episode or two, just in case Alpha Male is picked as an extra.

In other news of my life....a couple of weeks ago, Alpha Male went to Las Vegas to do some house hunting. We live in the Pacific NW, which, while a beautiful place to live, is not a good place to be for someone who has asthma and other issues such as arthritis. Alpha Male agreed to wait on us moving there until I am through with school. This should take just about 3 years, if I do it right.
Anyways, while down there, Alpha Male made a couple of offers and we had not heard back. As it turns out, the banks like to wait until the end of the month to look at all offers that have come in and then they decide which offer to accept and do so on the first of the next month. I find it quite lovely that the banks are so eager to take peoples homes when they are a bit late on payments but they have no issue with taking their time in accepting an offer. You would think that they would actually move quickly when an offer that is good comes their way. Guess we can never figure people out, can we?
I think I will take a creative writing course in the Fall, I think it can go far in making my blogging pop more!

Essays....

Last week, I met with my Rabbi who I am working with for my conversion. I feel that it was a good meeting and I really like him. I was given the assignment to write an essay about me. He doesn't want the essay to be about why I am converting, but rather, how I got from my birth to sitting in his office 42 years later.
I am a bit torn....My childhood was not good, it was not pretty and it was not happy. I am the survivor of mental, emotional and sexual abuse; Had I not been made of what I am made of, I would, I am sure, be dead or hooked on drugs. The fact that I made it to where I am, relatively unscathed, is a true miracle.
Do I tell this to the Rabbi and hope for the best or do I just omit that bit about me, a bit that is very large and has served to shape me into the very person I am today.
I would like to think that in the end....we are all truly products of our experiences and we should embrace those experience's for what they are rather than hide them and never speak of them again. This is something I need to seriously mull over.

In other news, we are starting up our weekly shabbat dinners. I am very excited and have so much fun thinking of what exactly I will do every week for food.

School is going well, I look forward to having the summer off to get my bearings and to plan out my strategy as far as my education goes. We will see how the summer pans out.

Life is a funny thing, it gives you just what you need, even if you don't know that you need what you are being given.

Thoughts on Modern Orthodox Judaism....

I am compiling a list of questions I have for the Rabbi I am meeting with. I really don't think it will be a problem to attend Synagogue and to keep the Sabbath and to follow all of the holidays. I do think I will have an issue with learning Hebrew...heck, I have a hard enough time with English sometimes.
Also, what do I do if the Rabbi wants my husband to also convert? I have mentioned it to my husband and I don't know how he feels about it. Anyways, I am making it my goal to have a shabbat dinner every week. I will be needing to get my grocery shopping done on Thursdays after work, it would seem. That, of course, means shopping without the husband in tow. This also means that I need to actually make plans for shabbat dinners.
I am good at planning, sadly, I tend to plan for more food than I really need, but it does actually come in handy with not cooking on Saturdays, so I guess it's a win win situation.
I also need to start looking at Tichels ......in case I do actually do this, I will be needing my Rabbi to send a note to my boss.....this should be interesting.

A New Direction.....

So, I am really really considering the return (I really dislike the term conversion in my case) to Judaism as an orthodox or Modern orthodox process. This is really something that I need to do for my own self.
Of course, I grew up attending church and celebrating Christmas, Halloween, Easter and I imagine that I should, to most people, find some sadness or conflict with my moving in this direction, but I don't. Lets face it, I'm not really that close to my family and I am sure that they aren't really concerned with what I do in my life so they definately won't be too concerned with this path I am on.
I meet next week with the Rabbi of the local Orthodox shul. I know this gentleman so I am rather excited.
Will report back.