wow. another week flew. lots going on. at work we are getting ready for things that i will not mention lest i get terrified.
nice meal at Xanh in Mt. View: mostly vietnamese, excellent modern presentations (ahi tartare over dry ice, very steamy). yum. got recommendations from the waiter for the next two meals.
back in santa monica. right now there is someone blaring from a car stereo i think. wonder how long it will take before someone calls the cops. i know it is partly how sound moves up to the 5th floor, but it is LOUD. perhaps it is from the building lower down? i can't tell. but it is loud.
so in the last two weeks i have given away 3 business cards on airplanes. let's look at the similarities of the recipients. on the return flight from Israel to NY, there were two ultra-orthodox young women, returning from their first trip to Israel. they live in Brooklyn, and now, having graduated from high school, they will begin teaching. one loves chemistry and math. they wear long sleeves, high necks. they have no internet access, and they are OK with it. some of the students in their school come from less observant homes and they see how much yucky stuff is "out there." i gave them my card and said i would reply if they wrote to me. they were perfectly fine chatting with me, obviously not observant, wearing pants, short sleeves, etc. they were very nice. next: on the flight down to LA there was a group of muslim women who have been at stanford and now coming to play in SoCalif. some of them are younger and not wearing headscarves. they were bouncing to music on an ipod. but the woman i sit next to is a bit older. she wears a head scarf. she lives in riyadh, saudi arabia. she also does not have internet access, no email. she teaches 7-12 year olds. she has 2 sisters and one brother. and lots of nieces and nephews, but she is not married. women do not vote. she is ok with that for now. hopefully one day it will change, she says. i gave her my card as well. so at the poles, ultra=orthodox jews from brooklyn and a muslim from saudia arabia now have cards from a reform synagogue in california. the experience made me feel bold. whatever happens.
things are slowing down here. and i leave early tomorrow (late morning instead of evening) to return to the sj giants jewish heritage evening. keep your fingers crossed cuz it is going to be madness. hopefully we will all survive and live to tell the story, and i'll blog about it later.
