Lulu... For Your Listening Pleasure

Shabbat Shalom

Remember the time we decided to mix up the Sabbath  festivities at Middle Jewish Community Center? Summer 2005 was the year we added a dash of spice to the challah bread (and I'm not talking about cinnamon). As camp counselors we felt compelled to take initiative and add some flair to the regular old "bim baum" songs. Naturally, we told the campers that morning (that Monday morning) there was going to be a special guest at Shabbat that Friday (we continued to tell them all week long till they could hardly wait, by "wait" I mean they could hardly take it). On Friday, right before the challah, candles, and the wine (in their case dixie cups of juice), we busted through the doors with a boom box playing "YMCA" in full Village People gear dancing like it was our last (not to mention coffee ground handle bar mustaches). Who knew that no child who was born before 1990 didn't know a damn thing about the village people? Even though the build up was probably terrible, and the let down was probably worse, I'd say it was one of the best Shabbats ever (that's what I'd say).

Workin' For the Weekend...

 

Your New Favorite Fall Mix

Panis et Circenses - Os Mutantes

Little Red Corvette - Prince

Go Outside (Menahan Street Band Remix) - Cults

Kanske Är Jag Kär i Dig - Jens Lekman

New Age - Velvet Underground

Remind Me - Patrice Rushen

Breeze - Apollo Sunshine

Old Friends - Bibio

Long Boast Pass - Tennis

Who Do You Love - Bernard Wright

Check The Rhime - A Tribe Called Quest

Ram On - Paul McCartney & Linda McCartney

I'll Look Around - Nina Simone

The Bay - Metronomy

I Couldn't Say It To Your Face - Arthur Russell

Make Her Say - (Ft. Kanye West & Common) Kid Cudi

You and Me - Penny & the Quarters Penny & the Quarters

The Velvet Underground...For Your Listening Pleasure

Beneath the Billowy Bins...

Senses entertained for hours. Five new (old records), two new (old books), and a stack of beautiful old paper. Best $5.00 spent. Bins, you've done it again...you've done it again!

Dear Pen Pal

Would you be mine?

Bedazzled

Luna De Miel

Costa Rica was incredible, a bit intimidating at the start, and always stunning. We saw a variety of wildlife, monkeys, 3 toed sloths, 2 toed sloths (which have a strange similarity to a blonde surfer dude, I swear I heard one yell "hang loose in the distance"), alligators, and fortunately only 2-3 spiders that were larger then my palm. In Costa Rica the lizards and iguanas are like squirrels in America, roaming the streets and trees freely. Apparently of the 119 snakes in Costa Rica, only 19 are posionous (no biggie....right?). At a park called Hacienda Baru, a man named Ronald taught us about ancient medicine in Costa Rica (particularly sutures). Did you know there is ant in Costa Rica that was once used for stitches? It's true, not only did Ronald tell us, Ronald showed us. He proceeded to catch an ant from a 60 foot large ant hill (yes, 60 feet), and pinch that ant onto his skin. Do note, the ant was an inch long, and when the body was broken off, the head stay attached to Ronald's hand by the pinchers . In the past, people would leave multiple ant heads "stitching" a wound for up to a week (which is truly a sentence I never thought I would say).

The weather, was sunny in the morning, stormy in the afternoons, and always humid (thus causing my hair to look similar to a Captain Hook wig the whole trip). The sun would rise at around 5:00 am, which meant we arose around 5:00 am. As our Spanish improved, so did Alex's early morning wake up calls. One day Alex saw monkeys run by our room, and he woke me up shouting "MONOS MONOS" at the top of his lungs (mono is the Spanish word for Monkey). At night the sun set at 6pm, the sky never failed to get pitch black by 6:15. When the sunset was not over shadowed by a storm, it was stunning.

During the past two weeks we began to familiarize ourselves with Costa Rican culture. After reading Costa Rica guidebooks with tips about safe traveling, Alex and I dressed particularly drab, not wanting to stand out (biggest mistake of our stand out lives). Most of the people we saw in Costa Rica were dressed to the 9s everywhere we went (by that I mean, it was not uncommon to see a woman on a hiking trail with wedges or heels, and full make up). The food was delicious, and we became particularly fond of the local favorite "Pollo consado" (rice, black beans, grilled chicken, plantains, and a salad). As Alex puts it "we ate enough pollo consado to feed a small village."

Driving in Costa Rica was a pretty intense (frightening at times) experience. For the record intense (and frighting at times) looked like a semi driver passing a motorcycle on a blind turn, going 80km, and the passenger has a toddler on their lap (not to mention the driver is chugging a 2 liter bottle of orange or grape fanta). We saw this happen more then once or twice, or ten times. Don't worry (or worry immencely), at the end of the trip Alex was driving like a true Tican driver. This looked like Alex passing semis, while he sipped a 2 liter bottle of orange or grape fanta (sans the toddler on my lap). When driving, it was not uncommon to arrive at road the was no longer a straight road, but a road with a small river running through it. We learned from the locals, if you do approach a river when driving, take a big gulp of fanta, and drive straight through (and we did).

Consider it Tied...

photos curtesy of the lovely steep street and the lovely lorraine.

Wednesday Wedding Day

Signs made with <3 by Alex

In the Tune of "I Can't Wait"

1.

2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

7.

Oh hello! If you thought I had dropped off the face of the earth into wedding world (not to be confused with the World of Warcraft), you are so right (yes, you are so right). Don't worry, spirits are as high as ever. Above are some sneaks and some peaks of what me and the fellow have been up to (opposed to gushing my heart out on this baby, by "baby" I'm mean my blog, not a baby...come on).

1. A real live photo booth wall of photos made by Alex (can you believe that man?).

2. Alex in the photo wall.

3. Me in the photo wall.

4. Mums from my mum.

5. The greeter's wedding wear (aka the families lovely pup).

6. Flowers for the ladies.

7. A 4 slot quarter operated vintage candy machine (you'll be able to find this in the "arcade" at the wedding)

Go Outside