(no subject)

[ewt]

Tired.

Plumber coming Friday, to replace pump and install thermostat. I think I will be finding my hot water bottle tonight.

PHB did not go to Israel today and will be going tomorrow instead, which means I have to put up with him for another day, which I'm not particularly happy about. GRAH.

Cleaned my room a bit last night, but it is still pretty dire. Eurkh. Grah. Going to work on it a bit more before bed tonight.

Looking forward to seeing shevek this weekend. I've missed him loads.

I need to do a bit of meal planning, so I can get most of my shopping done tomorrow night, so that I have half a chance of getting to Battersea on Friday to pick up my renewed busking license. Grah. Thinking about the scale on which the plumber will have to work I'm not sure how successful this will really be; replacing the pump will presumably involve turning off the electricity and water, draining the radiators, changing the pump and installing the thermostat, turning the water back on, filling the radiators (maybe bleeding all of them too? erk!), turning the electric back on, restarting the boiler, and hoping the whole thing works. With any luck I could get to Battersea and back before any of that is an issue. The earliest I can pick the license up is 10am, so if I leave early enough to do that I'm still looking at getting back to Hendon at about noon. I suppose I'll have to phone Mrs. Broit tomorrow and see if I can figure out what time the plumber will be around.

WHEE! Cooking for Rosh Hashanah with no water and no electricity is going to be FUN. Thank goodness for gas stovetops, is what I say... I think perhaps on Thursday night I might buy some bottles of water, just in case I need to do anything at an inopportune time. I'll also make sure that ALL the washing up is done so that if there's any left over it doesn't seem quite so overwhelming. Happily Friday night and Sunday lunch are at someone else's place, so I only need to worry about Saturday lunch and dinner, and a little something for Sunday night.. I think a good chullent for Saturday lunch; it's going to be one of those bright, clear, cool days. I'd like to do something vaguely Japanese for supper but I'm not sure if I'll manage to get to Oriental City before Friday night or not. Perhaps I'll try Indian instead, or just cop-out and do random Italianeque roasted things, because I know I can and it will come out reasonably well, and because olive oil and balsamic vinegar are so nice on challah.

I love the crisp weather we've been having; the clear blue skies and very slightly nippy air are so invigorating. I love the crunch of the dead leaves, and the SMELL of them. I love the dryness of the air. I don't mind that it's a little on the cold side (Canadian, remember? I can do cold, to extremes this country has never seen, or at least provided I've got somewhere warm to come back to), I wish I were out in it a bit more. It makes me feel so alive.

I suppose if I'm going to pick those rosehips in Hendon Park I'd better do it fairly soon now. Perhaps Monday, before teaching. I don't know yet whether I'm working at Multi-Sharp on Monday and Tuesday next week - my intention is not to, but I need to look up the precise terms of my contract. If I'm not working then I intend to spend the time well, ie not sit around online all day. Picking rosehips and making some jelly and/or squash would be a fine way to spend the day, I think.

There must be something edible and yummy that can be made out of acorns. I see so many of them.

Comments

[elmyra.livejournal.com]

Are you going to be in Bath over the weekend?

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Nope. See this post. (http://www.livejournal.com/users/ewtikins/80708.html) It'll be a while before I get to Bath again, due to not-so-random religious stuff.

Probably November.

Annoying, really; I like Jewish holidays but I also like Bath. If nothing else, Bath is Not London... London isn't so bad but it's awfully big and there are too many cars.

[elmyra.livejournal.com]

Actually, can I ask you a question about religion?

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Sure:)

I reserve the right to not answer, or to tell you I don't know, but I'm happy for you to ask.

[elmyra.livejournal.com]

Do you actually believe or do you observe Jewish holidays for the sake of culture and tradition?

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

A bit of both, I guess.

I have a strong belief in a creator higher power (God, for the sake of shorthand), although not necessarily with all the trappings that organised religion tries to attach. I don't know where this belief comes from; I know I can't prove it to anyone else and I'm quite happy for other people to be atheist. However, I know deep down inside me that God exists. I've questioned that a lot with all the classic philosophical arguments and it doesn't go away. Perhaps I'm just nuts; but it doesn't seem to be doing me any harm.

I find the stories in the Torah quite fascinating, although I don't (as some do) believe that they are literally true, word for word. I'm not sure I even believe they came from God, or were written by Moses, although certainly the first five books were written by one person and there is great variation in the writing style of, say, the various prophets (Did you know that Isaiah is, apparently, in iambic pentameter?)

I observe Jewish rituals because they are, for the most part, meaningful to me and because on the whole, I am happier when I observe them than I am when I don't. justinep has described Judaism as 'life by numbers' - following the 'rules' is generally beneficial.

I guess the reason I'm converting to Judaism is because Jewish life is the closest approximation of what I personally need for my own spiritual happiness. Why settle for an approximation? Why not create my own value system and set of rituals entirely from scratch? Community.

I'm not afraid of God punishing me if I don't follow the 'rules' - I'm sure He (and I use a gender non-specific He - in the Torah God is spoken about in both masculine and feminine pronouns at different times) can take it if I break Shabbat or eat a ham and cheese sandwich. It's just that I'm happier if I make Shabbat special and keep kosher, so I may as well go ahead and do so. It makes me feel like I'm doing something, somehow... in a completely different way to the way volunteering makes me feel, or buying organic food - those are things that affect the Concrete World. Keeping Shabbat affects in inside bits. It's hard to explain. The structure of Jewish law gives me a framework from which to live my life.

I don't know if that answers your question or not. Feel free to ask me more; it's good brain exercise for me to have to think about this stuff again.

[elmyra.livejournal.com]

Oh. I didn't know you had converted, I thought you were raised with Judaism.

I think I understand vaguely what you mean. I am an atheist myself and find it generally hard to understand both why people believe in "god" and why they follow religious rituals. I very much believe in taking responsibility for my own life and my own actions. So I've had quite a few discussions with people of various religious persuasions in a quest for understanding. I find that rationally I can see why they do what they do, but on a deeper level it just goes against my own ... bliefs is probably the word, yet again proving that atheism is a religion in itself. ;-)

Thanks for replying, it was enlightening.

[ksta.livejournal.com]

absolutely. In the way that ewtikins 'feels' there is a higher being, i 'feel' there isn't.
It's not about proof or right or wrong, but belief.

[elmyra.livejournal.com]

Heh heh. A couple of years ago I used to vigorously deny that atheism is a religion or belief system. I have changed my mind since. :-)

[ksta.livejournal.com]

yeah. THe 'proofs' for god are ludicrous in the extreme, and miss the point. i.e., yuo don't need proof if you believe.
I don't believe, and would require a personal encounter to change my mind.
Thus you cna't have proof that there isn't a god, either.

currently, I believe in science. :P