Feeling better...

I couldn't sleep last night at all. I deactivated my facebook in the afternoon to avoid the unnecessary drama that I keep getting involved in. I created my facebook page (and by the way, I had another facebook account in the past that had all of my friends and relatives and siblings etc...but I was starting to receive suspicious e-mails from individuals I didn't even know or from fake accounts, inquiring about why it is that I had so many Jewish people on my facebook...or why I was part of certain groups etc...
So I decided to just disappear. Not very brave of me, I know, but I had enough on plate (my parents and friends) and the last thing I wanted to worry about was random strangers from FB.
So yeah where was I? lol so yeah I deactivated my first facebook account and after a while, I kind of missed Facebook, I missed Yosef. So I decided to create another facebook account. My intention was to of course build a network of Jewish friends but more importantly, to better keep in touch with Yosef and faceboook was a very interactive way of doing so.
Anyway, it worked for the first few months...we were chatting on FB's chat, commenting on each others pictures and writing sweet little notes on each others walls. well, until I realized that I I was alone and had no one to take care of me....that I have bills to pay, rent to pay, roommates drama, threats to worry about etc etc...I swear, being an adult is so over-rated!

So I became less and less active on FB...but it wasn't just me. Yosef was also very busy with his school and youtube page...and so I saw that there was no point of having a facebook page anymore. Sure, there are some people I would like to still keep in touch with, but there's always Gtalk, YM and of course blogspot.

Ok why am I even talking about Facebook? lol I think what I wanted to say was that I couldn't sleep at night because I had upset Yosef so much that it seemed that he was actually screaming in his email (Can you believe it?) I was freaking out :(

I'm just so glad that I got to hear his voice today...I feel so much better.

On a different note, the weather is just gorgeous today! It is 12C and will be around 22C in the afternoon and I just couldn't be more thankful! I want to see some sunshine! I'm planning to go on a bike ride today :D I'll post some pictures...and now I feel bad for sitting here and talking to myself when its gorgeous outside.

Later!

Chag Sukkoth Sameach

Hello,

So the dinner was very quiet. Two of the people that were supposed to be there could not make it. One of them is a resident and he was on call and the other is a teacher and had a lot of marking for Friday. But nonetheless, it was a peaceful dinner and we prayed a lot. It felt so good. I never actually thought that worshiping with other people can be so powerful.
The food was okay lol. I took some pictures to upload here :)

its a tradition for Iraqis and Syrians to eat a lot of leafy vegetables on Sukkot

Iraqi bread, I'm so proud of myself :)

Shwandar maslook: boiled beet. Very good source vitamins and its good for constipation and fever. Oh and speaking of fever, I learned an awesome old Iraqi Jewish remedy for fever which I will share in a different post! Yaay!

Iraqi salad
Chai Abu-Ne3na3 (mint tea)
And finally, Gahwa Arabiya (Arabic coffee)

And that was it
Till next time
Yokehved

a new beginning

So a lot has happened since the last time I blogged, or rather "tested" this blog lol

I actually had a blog somewhere else but unfortunately, I forgot my username and Google won't give me any hints :( But I didn't have a lot of posts there anyway. I was going through a rough time and wanted to talk..which brings me to this blog!
I am planning to update this blog as often as I can. I believe that writing about my daily life/concerns helps me come to terms with them and hence understand them more effectively.
Anyway, so today I'm sick :( I was planning to talk to my boss about quitting (I'll get to this in a sec), but it looks like I'm gonna have to do this next week as Wed. is my last shift for the week. I'm also going over to my friend's house for Sukkot dinner tomorrow and I'm sooo excited about it! We agreed to have a very simple, traditional Syrian/Iraqi Sukkot dinner (I'll be cooking lol). I called my aunt yesterday and got a few recipes/instructions on what to cook. I just wish I thought about this when I was in Toronto where I had better kitchen equipments/easy access to ingredients :*( But I did go to the superstore yesterday (ethnic food aisle, of course) and grabbed some Sumag, Za'atar and allspice. We are not building a sukkah :( but we will be praying together.

I haven't started cooking yet but it shouldn't take that long as I'm only making Kebbe Burgul and Kabab (baked Kabbab, can't BBQ today because its raining). I'm so excited for Turshi Shalgham (pickled beets)/Murabat TufaH (apple preserves) which I made a couple of days ago.

My new friends are also excited since they haven't experienced an actual "Sukkot" yet. They call themselves "self-taught Jews". One of them converted to Judaism last year, under the supervision of Rabbi from a reform synagogue and the other hasn't officially converted yet, however she does observe most Sabbath laws/prohibitions and maintains a Kosher diet. So as far as she's concerned, she's Jewish. The plan was to invite someone else (also a convert), but I'm not sure if all three will be joining us for dinner tmrw.

Back to what I was saying about my job. I was gonna talk to my supervisor about quitting...I just feel like I don't belong there :( People there are nice but they expect me to assimilate by adopting their "modern", Western lifestyle. They are easily offended and very narrow-minded. Back in Toronto, people had respect for those of other faiths. They are more aware and accommodating and some are even accepting. They listen when you explain to them why it is that you can't do certain things such as touching members of the opposite sex. Here, I feel like people want you to adopt their culture, their beliefs and their lifestyle. It's really sad.

And with that I'll end this post. I have to start cleaning.

Till next time,
Yokheved