So Much...

My plate spilleth over! Last week, I happily completed my penultimate semester in the Technical Writing program at SF State. Meanwhile, my sister went and got herself doctored. No, there was no visit to “Dr. 90210”—the brilliant Yael Prizant now has “PhD” tacked on to the end of her name and I could not be more proud. The beautiful dedication she wrote to me in her dissertation is something I will cherish for years, along with the awesome feeling that I lucked out big-time in the family lottery to have her as a sister.

Of course, becoming a doctor heralds the need for much celebration, so we’re all headed to our former cit-ay in a couple of weeks to watch her strut her stuff at UCLA’s graduation (actually, for PhDs it’s called a “hooding ceremony,” but that odd choice of terminology calls to mind images of KKK members running around burning shit, so I’m loath to use it).

After spending the initial part of Memorial Day weekend emptying my backpack and filing away another semester’s worth of papers, I made a whirlwind trip to San Diego to say goodbye (sniff, sniff) to my friends Aviva and Craig, who, along with their daughter Mia, are off to Japan for 3 years. Seems the U.S. Marines are just itching to have Craig on their base in Okinawa and thus, off they go! Hey, it’s better and safer than Iraq—if it keeps him from another tour over there, I wouldn’t care if they sent him to the moon (though I imagine the sushi wouldn’t be nearly as good).

We had a great time and I managed to hoard a handful of books to add to my summer reading list (thanks again, guys!) and to enjoy a wonderful visit with my former sister-in-law, whom I have missed very much.

On the work front, summer is an extremely busy time at Job A and on top of that, I’ve taken on a steady freelance gig (Job B) from my longtime colleagues at Premiere Radio. I write stuff on a weekly basis, they send me money—lovely how that works out!

In two weeks, I’ll be perched in the semi-nosebleed section of the Oakland Coliseum, excitement bursting from every pore of my body, watching The Police and waiting for them to play “Every Breath You Take” so I can excuse myself for a bathroom break.

Come late July, I’m off to Israel for my first visit to the country from whence much of my family hails. I’m excited to spend 10 days visiting family I haven’t seen since I was in pigtails, meeting family I’ve never met and attempting to use my limited Hebrew in conversation (ha ha!) and for reading signs, newspapers, etc. Rest assured, I am able to read the essentials: falafel, hummus, tehina and, on the other end of the spectrum, halva, which my father loves but which I avoid like wet grass in high heels.

So, I am excited about a fabulous summer, during which I plan to:

a. Keep up my fluency in Spanish in the weekly class I enjoy so much;
b. Improve my Hebrew (speaking and reading) in preparation for my trip to Israel;
c. Spend some quality time with people I love, both near and far;
d. Read, read, read!
e. Catch up on the crapload of movies I’ve missed since last summer;
f. Read, read, read!
g. Spend as much time as possible at the SPCA shelter and doing other things that make me feel good;
h. Explore more of my wondrous adopted city; and
i. Try not to become too disgusted with the way-premature campaigning of our sad sack of presidential candidates.

Kindly check back with me in September to find out if I’ve fulfilled my objectives!

Posted by ayelet at May 30, 2007 12:56 PM