[O.C.T.O.B.E.R. XI-30] Double trouble

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

• Samantha had an alarm for 06:30, and I woke up simultaneously
  • Last night’s stomachache didn’t keep me up, and I slept well
  • Had yogurt and water for breakfast
• Drove to work at 07:30, and the drive was easy and reasonable
• Dealt with the e-mails that came in: most were not actionable (whew)
• Today’s Intermediate Algebra class had a frustrating problem: the doc cam died on me!
  • The topic was rational expressions, and I was able to cobble together using the board and recording from there
  • Yet, it made it for a tough day since this threw off my plan substantially
• Stats had me at the board as we considered conditional probability
  • Hopefully everyone was able to see it okay…
• Upstairs, found out that the Science Department has a spare doc cam, so I borrowed it (whew: crisis averted!)
• Prepped Stats Project 2: “The Price Is Right” project
• Skipped lunch since today is צום גדליה (though I still drank water since it was a warm day)
• More stats prep till I went to the library
  • In the library for student hours, there were a few people from Intermediate, unsurprisingly asking about Project 1 (linear programming)
  • It was a challenge to explain without completely giving it away
  • Thankfully, they weren’t totally unprepared as they had watched the videos I mentioned
  • When there weren’t students, I was doing stats prep
• At 15:00, left the office and drove to Costco
  • Met Samantha there, and we got a medi-fridge for our basement
  • We got some other stuff too…
  • … and both of us received the bivalent COVID booster!
• Took the recyclables to the recycling center and then headed home; Samantha came home after going to the chiropractor
• We had saucy nugs and fries for dinner, and watched Bachelor in Paradise
  • Lots of faces from the previous seasons, including some villains and good people
  • It’ll be interesting to see what happens!
• Headed downstairs and spent two hours on work prep—I have to put in some evening work to catch up from two days of not-really-vacation
• Got to sleep easily at about 22:30

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Today is the thirtieth day of the eleventh round of O.C.T.O.B.E.R. That’s four weeks and two days.

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[O.C.T.O.B.E.R. XI-29] So much on the ledgers

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

• Started my day at 06:45 again
• Breakfast was just some cereal and more
  • Just like yesterday morning, practiced for my Reading at this point
  • However, did not have to leave early to pick up Illyana today
• Headed to services at 09:00 and was there in very good time
  • I led פסוקי דזמרה just like yesterday
  • Rabbi also encouraged me to, and I did, lead שחרית to the best of my ability
    • This leading included doing the High-Holy-Days tunes for the beginning of the עמידה, and it was fairly comfortable for me
    • Much of the early parts of the ראש השנה service are not much different from שבת, especially since a fair amount of English was previously agreed upon
• The young’uns took over for the תורה service, and it was good to see so much participation outside of just Rabbi
• My reading of the מפטיר went well, just like last time
• For מוסף, I led once again, other than the first paragraph of ונתנה תוקף that I was not sufficiently prepared for
• Made sure to work with the Rabbi and not step on each other’s toes with the plan
• All in all, another meaningful service, and one that had me in good spirits!
• After services, chatted for a while with Nanci outside, regarding the service and other topics
• Before going home, stopped at the post office for change-of-address forms based on Samantha’s maiden name (a separate form is needed versus our current shared last name)
• At home, broke down a bunch of boxes
• Also journalized the receipts that had piled up in the last few weeks, as I know I’m behind on a lot of things
• Also dealt with some e-mails (personal only: I’ll save professional for tomorrow per my out-of-office message)
• When Samantha got home, we went to dinner and then the apartment to partially clear out our garages
• A few housewares at Menards, including some exchanges
• A bit of house work once we got home, and this went till about 21:30
• Ugh! I have another stomachache, but this time, the meds quickly quelled it
  • It’s almost certainly due to so much on my mind and plate

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Today is the twenty-ninth day of the eleventh round of O.C.T.O.B.E.R. That’s four weeks and one day.

[O.C.T.O.B.E.R. XI-28] Today!

Monday, September 26, 2022

• Woke up at 06:45 to my usual alarm
• Had some breakfast (muffin and spiked yogurt)
• Rehearsed parts of the service that I was going to lead today, as well as my מפטיר reading
• Picked up Illyana and we got to the synagogue, but had to wait for the doors to unlock
• The service started at 09:30 and I led פסוקי דזמרה as always
  • Of course, it had slightly different melodies for the High Holy Days
  • I had no “great introduction” before Illyana took over at המלך
• I enjoyed Illyana’s leading of the שחרית portion of the service—her voice was good and she effectively led us
  • The beginning of the עמידה has the “standard Shabbat melody,” but that didn’t bother me like it did last year
  • For lay-leading and for only having prepped for about a month, the patchwork worked!
  • We skipped a lot of the פייוטים this year, but that’s okay
• Herb gave the דרשה and it was nice, though I don’t remember much about it
• During מוסף, the highlight of ונתנה תוקף was a tag-team leading: Illyana did the first paragraph and I did the next paragraph (including TI’s traditional כבקרת רועה), before we joined together on בראש השנה
  • In general, we led well together, and I feel that it was a very spirited service
  • Next year, I would love to learn some of the other Hebrew parts, and (re?) introduce ויתנו לך כתר מלוכה to TI
  • The name of today’s post: My spirited leading of היום תאמצנו
  • I claimed it was my first time leading a High Holy Day service, but in reality I had done leading at Temple Sholom in 5780 (and had evidently repressed that leading…)
• After services, headed to Sam’s Club to get a few provisions (yes, I know that’s prohibited servile work!)
• Had some leftovers for lunch at home
• At 14:00, biked toward Antelope Park, and met Dad at the new usual spot
  • The weather was so pleasant, but slightly breezy!
  • Getting out on my bike feels so good!
• We did תשליך at Antelope Park
  • I cast off rocks rather than bread crumbs: rocks provided by משכן שיקאגו
  • Moreover, I wore the socks that were gifted by the same entity!
• Got home easily, and got ready for tomorrow’s service, where Rabbi and I will be the leaders
  • Updated the cue sheet to provide to Rabbi, as based on this service, there were a few changes and clarifications that I wanted to make
  • I’m less nervous about tomorrow!
• Did some journaling and laundry, but am still at a huge deficit on the former
  • I’m just going to give up on writing physically in the journal this month. I’ll use this month’s journal as O.C.T.O.B.E.R.!
  • At least I’ve been quasi-journaling on my Google calendar…
• Samantha picked me up and we went to Weissland together for a festive dinner
  • The dinner included brisket, roasted veggies, חלה, and more
  • No apples & honey, but I had some of those with breakfast
  • It was nice being with family, for a family dinner NOT on a Sunday!
  • What happened during dinner? Talk about stargazing!
• Before we went home, we used my telescope to gaze at Jupiter, which is very close to Earth right now!
  • That is pretty impressive
  • Weissland might be a better place for the telescope for now due to the deck higher up
• Got ready for bed once Samantha and I got home: tomorrow’s another big day!

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Today is the twenty-eighth day of the eleventh round of O.C.T.O.B.E.R. That’s four weeks.

[O.C.T.O.B.E.R. XI-27] Into a new year

Sunday, September 25

• Got up at 08:00 again
• Leftovers from last night to eat, as well as spiked applesauce
• Rode toward TI at 09:00, earlier than usual for men’s group
  • Met up with Dad near the Boosalis trailhead
  • At TI, we switched out the סדורים for מחזורים and changed out the תורה covers too
• The bike ride continued easily to coffee
  • Discussions en route: Huskers football, as well as lamenting the inefficiencies of bureaucracy
  • I think I’m a lot more passionate about some political topics than I ever thought
• Once at The Mill, enjoyed some tea and discussions
  • Herb talked a bit about the Beatrice Six
  • A bit of discussion about the synagogue (building and general status)
  • Dad brought up an interesting topic: the timer on automatic lights in bathrooms
• Dad and I rode back to Weissburrow, by going along the Boosalis and Old Cheney trails
  • Though another possible route is along the Billy Wolff trail, neither of us wanted to tackle the rough uphill at Holmes Lake
  • We made good time
• Dad helped to assemble the IKEA stuff for the office room
  • Both Dad and I had some leftover stir fry to eat
  • Samantha took a nap
• Did some other work too
• Took a shower and printed the cue sheets for the choir for tonight
• Headed to Weissland at 16:30 for a quick dinner
  • Mom made jerk chicken and it was quite tasty!
  • It was nice to be over there
• Headed to the Temple for the choir call before ערב ראש השנה services
• We got quickly rehearsed and got ready for services…
• Here’s my rundown of services:
  • As a Temple evening service, we did more aloud than a TI evening service for the High Holy Days
  • I got to lead the chanting of המעריב ערבים and of אהבת עולם in the High Holy Days נוסח that I grew up with
  • Just in general, the service seemed to be a better blend of our traditions than last year
  • It was nice singing as part of the choir, as we were small but mighty
  • Though I don’t recall the topic of the דרשה. So sue me!
• Stayed for a little bit of the עונג, but Samantha was pretty tired so we got home
• Had some clothes to fold from the bed anyway…
• And got ready for bed by 22:00

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Today is the twenty-seventh day of the eleventh round of O.C.T.O.B.E.R. That’s three weeks and six days.

[O.C.T.O.B.E.R. XI-26] Meet the neighbors

Saturday, September 24

• Woke up easily at 08:00
• Had some yogurt and clementines for breakfast
• Headed to the synagogue by bike, and not just because my car was at Weissland
  • No, wait. Mom did drop me off at her house and then I drove home yesterday. Disregard what I said earlier!
• Services, as the one before Rosh HaShanah, were pretty uneventful
  • I led through שחרית as usual, and the בני מצווה kids then took over
  • I didn’t really pay much attention to the דרשה [so sue me]
  • Grabbed and left at the עונג
• The bike back was a little warmer, but not overwhelming
• There was a gathering on the street as a HOA social
  • Got to meet many of the neighbors
  • The Jimmy John’s sandwiches that they had were acceptable: turkey without cheese was one of the options!
  • Met neighbors: old, young, and in-between!
  • Hopefully we will be able to socialize with many of them later
• Drove to pick up Illyana and then go to the synagogue for Rosh HaShanah rehearsal
  • We rehearsed mostly the structure of the service, rather than the actual recitations
  • However, a few of the “key” parts we did together
  • We realized we were unsure about the “logistics” beyond the service, including honors to give to congregants
  • Thankfully, Ken came to the rescue
• I left around 17:30, but she stayed
• Grabbed a few items at the apartment and then dropped off litter at Mom & Dad’s
• Returned home and we made breakfast for dinner: it hit the spot!
• A relaxing evening: I watched the Husker volleyball match on my phone (Nebraska Public Media), and Samantha was watching her shows
  • It was another easy win for the Huskers
  • We also briefly went to Emma’s to do an item exchange
• The evening was mostly uneventful otherwise, so I end my account here…

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Today is the twenty-sixth day of the eleventh round of O.C.T.O.B.E.R. That’s three weeks and five days.