Day: April 9, 2012

Pesach

venturatrekerLeave a comment


This weekend was the jewish Holiday Pesach or Pass Over.  For American Jews it is one of the most celebrated holidays, mainly because it does not consist of going to temple but rather having a seder, or a dinner.

This year I went to two seders, one at my house and one at my grandparents house.  A seder is basically a very ,very long dinner with only certain foods that must be eaten in a certain order while reciting certain prayers and telling the story of Pass over.

Pass Over is celebrating the jews release from bondage in Egypt.  It is the story of Moses freeing the Jewish slaves in which he proclaims the famous well-known line “Let My People go.”

During the seder the entire story is retold while we remember what our ancestors went through long ago.  We eat only unleavened bread to symbolize the jews frantic escape in which they did not have time to let their bread rise and rather put them on their backs and the sun cooked them into Matza.

Pass Over has much more significance to the world today then just being a jewish holiday.  On Pass Over we reflect on how blessed we are to live the lives we live and we thank our ancestors for enduring the harshness of slavery so that we may not have to.  We also discuss the world of today and how slavery is still very much alive today and what we can do.

Something New.

YourcupateaLeave a comment

Passover Plate

This weekend I experienced something new, my first Passover Seder.  Although I grew up with close Israeli family friends religion was never something that was shared between our two families. I had never experienced any part of the Jewish religion nor had any in-depth knowledge. So this experience was exciting for me.

I must admit I was a little nervous after being taunted all day about Passover proceedings. As I sat down at the table all nerves disappeared, after all it was a new experiences something exciting not something to be feared.

It was a more liberal affair that I expected with some breaded shrimp on the menu. The whole event was a lot of fun with a lot of great food. With some reading, eating and some silly dancing from drunken parents it was definitely a night to remember.

Trying something new was definitely fun and I look forward to more Jewish events in the future.

Easter Sunday

rangerthecatLeave a comment

I remember up until about 5 years ago, I would always get up on Easter Sunday to my favorite breakfast, French Toast, and receive a basket that the “Easter bunny” had brought me. It was filled with all that green fake grass, colorful socks, candy, toys, and other fun things.

This year, there was an Easter egg hunt on campus. I didn’t attend, but I did think back on how much fun Easter used to be. Maybe it’s because I really love bunnies! They are just so darn cute I can’t help myself. But also, holidays were always a time that my family spent together. My dad would be off work for holidays and have free time to spend with us doing whatever we wanted.

Easter has always been a holiday that I didn’t quite understand. I mean, I know it’s a religious holiday, but my family has never been religious, yet we still celebrate it. I guess it’s just the fun of it all, having something to celebrate and an excuse to go out and do things that have become a tradition to your family.

This Sunday, I went to the farmers’ market and got coffee in town instead of participating in any traditional Easter Sunday activities. But, I really didn’t mind. I had a great time hanging out with friends. Maybe next year I will celebrate Easter again, but who knows?

Happy Easter!

So cheap!

thehungryrunnergirlLeave a comment

So I went to Santa Barbara on Saturday, and I was wondering why Marshalls has such cheap things.

Marshalls is owned by TJX companies. It is the second largest off-price fashion store in the United States and has more than 750 conventional stores including Marshalls Mega store. They also expanded into Canada and Puerto Rico.

They sell shoes, clothes and hardware with very low prices. I got a few Nike running shorts. One of them originally costs 40 dollars but I got them for 15 dollars. When I go into a Nike store, I always hesitate to buy things because they are very expensive; but at Marshalls, they are more than 50% off and I just want to spend all my money because I don’t feel like I’m wasting my money. Also, I got a pair of GUESS sandals for 30 dollars, which probably costs more than 50 dollars if I get them at an actual GUESS store.

Also, Marshalls helps American charitable organization for helping children, families; Domestic Violence Prevention, United Way, National Youth Anti-Drug Campaign, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Saint Jude’s Children’s hospital.

An Easter Basket for Bunny Day

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

I think it’s pretty well known that I trip a lot.

I regularly get out of bed, trip, or simply fall on my face.

I was proud to say I did not fail after getting up this morning.

Then I opened my door and tried to walk out into the hall.

I tripped over this:

Which is a pretty freaking awesome thing to trip over I might add.
I got: yellow peeps, lemon heads, Reese’s, pop rocks, airheads, Laffy Taffy, sweet tarts, a chocolate bunny, fruit gummies, sour punch things, and a bunch of other sweet, amazing stuff.
I also got a “Happy Easter, Emmy!” card from my little sisters.
So I just wanna say thank you to my family for getting me this awesome tripping hazard and thanks to my sisters for the cute card.  I’d be happy to face plant every morning if this was waiting for me.
I love you guys.  Happy Easter!

Sandy Friends and Smiley Beaches.

yrreskrapLeave a comment

This weekend was so good.

Yesterday, I got off campus with my best friends to go shopping in Santa Barbara. I mean, what could go wrong there? Four girls on State Street, a beautiful sunny day in California, shopping. It was fantastic.

We ended up eating at Pascucci’s for dinner. Although I was never a big fan of the restaurant because I believe the food is incredibly bland, I nevertheless had an amazing time with my girls, all of whom I will miss so so so much after June 8th of this year…

Today, the girls headed out to the beach.

The day was beautiful and we made so many memories under the sun. Sand was everywhere and we strutted around in our bright bikinis, showing off our fabulous shorts tans we all accumulated from sports.

Anyways, although I am super happy, I am growing scared because of how close graduation is. 60 more days! And then we all part our different ways and walk the rest of the paths we were on.

All I can say is that I feel incredibly blessed to have crossed paths with such wonderful girls. I know I will never forget them and that we will always, ALWAYS stay best friends, wherever we are on this Earth.

Sea World!!!

r3t5nomLeave a comment

This weekend I had the chance to be the FIRST person to take my awesome girlfriend Joanna to Sea World in San Diego California. Since she had already been to Disneyland I figured that it would be great to take her to experience something new, and great it was.

It was SO much fun! We went to see a couple of the shows like the Shamu show and Pets Rule! which is a show that has nothing to do with the sea by the way, but regardless it is beyond impressive when the viewers find out that all the animals in the show were dogs adopted from the San Diego Humane Society.


Sea World to me is a place where those who wish to see majestic animals can do so in one location, animals that would otherwise be found in the wild and could be unreachable by people with monetary limitations. I know that it sounds horrible that these animals are kept in captivity and will never get to see the open ocean, yes i agree that is really sad but look at the kids who see these animals and are in complete awe and happiness.. to me that is a nice thing to see.

So that’s what I think is great about Sea World.
Do you like it there?

Of Cars and Men

therightliberal2 Comments

I drove around 300 miles today and they were some excellent ones.

I took my parents on an Easter excursion to see some great wildflowers up near Los Olivos, CA. The drive from Ojai to there was magnificent, something to really enjoy.

The roads are in great condition and the weather was beautiful, and it didn’t hurt that my mother allowed me to actually drive fast today.

To many, the car I was driving is not one to go fast in, and I would agree. I was driving a 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid, a car that has taken me many places, a car that already has over 120k miles on it. But if I try hard enough I can get it going and it actually handles pretty well.

I love cars, so much so that some may describe it as a problem. And on my drive today, every time I saw a car, I tried to think of its personality and what kind of person it matched. This doesn’t mean what person was driving, just, if it were a person, what person would it be?

I see a BMW 550i and imminently think of a pompous and obnoxious businessman. I see a small Toyota Yaris and think of a poor college student who is broke. I saw an Escalade smashed into a pole and thought of Mitt Romney.

But the gem of the day was seeing a BEAUTIFUL Ferrari 308 GTS cruising over HWY 154. Such a wonderful and fantastic car. I can’t help but get shivers when I actually see one driving.

I mean sure, I saw new M5s and 911 Turbos but they just have no class when it comes to a 308.

I am not a fan of older cars, I usually think they are slow and not really that good looking, but when you see a car that looks that good with a Ferrari badge on it, you have to respect it.

This is a video of the road (Figueroa Mtn. Road) I was on, although I was going a tiny bit quicker.

The might of Horses

venturatreker1 Comment

Today, I finally did something that I have been wanting to do at OVS for almost a year. I went Horse Back riding.


Upon arriving I was told I would be riding Lexi, the gentlest and easiest of all the horses.  That’s good of course, except she is HUGE.  Well not huge but pretty big.

While in the stall with the horse, brushing it and picking its hooves it really donned on me as to how big they are.  Although we claim to control them once you are on them or in the stalls with them, they can do whatever they want and you can’t stop them.

Once in the Arena and all mounted up it was time to walk.  Luckily Lexi IS the gentlest horse there so with a “HIGH HO SILVER AWAYYY” we were off at slow walk.

There really is something special about horse back riding.  For one only a hundred years ago or so they were the only means of fast transportation, and back then everyone knew how to ride.  Now its such a small part of our lives its quite sad.

It is wonderful that OVS still puts so much time and consideration into these powerful animals and offers such an incredible program to learn how to ride.

The first meet of the season!

thehungryrunnergirlLeave a comment

This Wednesday, we had our very first track meet at Cate school. Competing schools included Providence hall, Cate, Thacher and us, Ojai Valley.

We didn’t have any field competitors, but we had sprinters and long distance runners. We all ran well.

Two distance runners and I ran in 3 events: the 800m which is 2 laps, the 1600m which is 4 laps(1 mile) and the 3200m which is 8 laps (2 miles). There was only about 20 to 30 minutes in between the events, so it was pretty exhausting.

My coach (thebrownguy) and me warming up:

I love my track shoes, but they peel off my skin every time I run in them. I wear Nike Zoom Victory shoes and I can’t even feel them because they’re so light. Also, the colors are so bright and the colors of each shoe is different.

Well, it was such a fun meet and I can’t wait for the next meet, which is after our spring break!