Important Things

A few important things happened this week or are about to happen:

1. My first ever real best friend got married this past Thursday. I couldn't be at her wedding because it was in Israel and I couldn't exactly skip my first week of school (sadly). The weird thing is - even though we don't speak a lot because of time difference and just the different directions our lives have taken, there is still a really strong bond there. Her family made aliyah the summer after first grade - so we were both only six years old. But my earliest memories include her and her family. We've been best friends since we were a year old. That's something special. Not everyone is still in touch with their friends from that long ago. We see each other nearly every time either I go to Israel or she comes to America and our families just have a very special relationship that doesn't require constant contact in order to stay strong. In a weird way, it's almost like a long lost sister of mine has just gotten married. I know that's kind of hard to explain, but when I was looking at her wedding pictures, that's what it felt like.

2. I have three friends making aliyah on the Nefesh b'Nefesh flight tomorrow. Each of them is from a different part of my life, although they sort of overlap, too. One is a boy (I know, I know, co-ed friendship, co-ed summer camp, blah blah) I went to Moshava with for a number of summers. We're part of a very tight group of seven friends and...it's just really hard to explain us. It's sort of like a clique but in a very noncliquey way. It's like a kind of family, in a way. We've all gone our separate routes (although two of the people in this group are marrying each other later this year...), but we're all focused on ending up in Israel (actually, everyone except one other girl and myself have accomplished this already - or have definite plans to do so). I miss all of them a lot - many of them I haven't seen in ages because, well, they're in Israel. Sigh.

The second friend is a girl I went to Harova with and the third is a girl I became friends with in Stern (in Ivrit class, actually - at least one good thing came out of Ivrit at Stern!). So basically, someone from my teenage years, someone from my year in Israel, and someone from my college days (which are still going on) is making aliyah on the same flight tomorrow. So if I go to the airport to see them off, it will be something like facing various parts of my life all joining to take a powerful journey together. Except I will not be with them, which is sad for me. But mazal tov to them and much hatzlacha!

3. Mavis (my brother) started high school. This means my family is officially old - we're all high school and up!

4. Last Sunday, we saw Straight Man (my other brother) off to Israel for shana bet.

5. Trademark not only started her senior year of high school this week, but she is DRIVING.

6. A week and a half ago, I started my last year in Stern. Which is scary.

The Many Faces of Erachet

Sometime on Friday or Motzei Shabbos, this blog reached 10,000 hits. Yay! But for a while, it was stuck on 9999, and while that's a very cool looking number, it just isn't the same as 10,000! So that's when I decided it needed a little pursuading. So I ran to the nearest phonebooth, slipped inside, spun around, and re-emerged as...

Rockachet!

That's right - shy, quiet blogger by day, rocker by night!

(This all happened in an alternate universe where it wasn't the nine days)

With my electric guitar, I jammed this song (the tune is whatever you'd like it to be :P it's modern art, ya know):

So many blogs out there
They have so many hits
I want to join their ranks
But my blog's in the pits
It's just not big enough
So what am I to do?
I guess I'll count smaller
And then my numbers grew!

Here I am
Feelin' fine
Stuck on nine nine ninety-nine
Almost there
It's not fair
Listen to my hit-count prayer!
Just one more
I'm so poor
Send one hit-count through my door!
What a show
I'm aglow
Let my hit-count grow and grow!

I wait all night and day
Refresh Sitemeter's page
For that one hit to come
'For I die of old age
But no one's stoppin' by
So what am I to do?
I guess I'll daven hard
I'm a JBloggin' Jew!

Here I am
Feelin' fine
Stuck on nine nine ninety-nine
Almost there
It's not fair
Listen to my hit-count prayer!
Just one more
I'm so poor
Send one hit-count through my door!
What a show
I'm aglow
Let my hit-count grow and grow!

I want ten thousand hits
What's wrong with my request?
Is it too much to ask?
I'm blogging at my best
I've been so good so far
No controversy here
So nine nine ninety-nine
You've naught at all to fear!

Just one more!
One more hit!
One more visitor my way!
Hachnasat
Orchim is
All I'm asking for today!
I'll give you
All my thanks
When I'm climbin' in the ranks!
Then I'll be
More than fine
Free from nine nine ninety-nine!

Fifty Nifty Posts on My Blog...Otherwise Known As "Phone Shy"

YAY. POST NUMBER FIFTY.

Ahem.

Aaaaanyway, today was my first day as an intern somewhere! It wasn't much like I imagined, though I didn't know what to imagine, so I guess that's not saying a lot. I had to update the links on their website so my limited knowledge of html came in useful, though. And I got to put together media kits, which are basically these manila envelopes with a copy of a newly published book in each and a letter to each person getting an envelope to please write a review of the book. That part was pretty cool.

By far the worst part of the whole thing was answering the phone. I am incredibly phone shy. (Curiousjew, if you've noticed I never called you back :) It's nothing against you and I shall eventually, I'm just really awkward on the phone, heh). Luckily, I didn't have to do too much phone answering because someone else was in charge of that, but if she was on a different line or had stepped out, I had to do it. Let's just say, some women get very touchy about the fact that you don't know they're so-and-so's wife. I'm sorry! It's my first day working there! So I don't know your husband is such-and-such. Big deal. I mean, really. Get. A. Grip. And what was even worse was when someone's husband called and I completely went blank. This was the scenario:
Phone: Ring ring, ring ring (it's a really odd ring)
Me: Please, please, someone else pick up (wishful thinking, if it rings at my desk that means the lady who usually answers the phone is either not there or busy and no one else is going to be picking up that phone)
Phone: Ring ring, RING RING.
Me: *Swallows and picks up phone* H-Hi, this is [insert first part of the name of the publishing house] *awkward pause* Um, Publishing House. *Thinks: darn, I knew I forgot part of the name somewhere*
Touchy Husband: Hi, can I speak to Gwiffle? [this is my code name, just nod, smile, and play along]
Me: Um, sure. Just, um, hold on. Wait, who is this?
Touchy Husband: This is her husband. Who's this?
Me: Um, um, I'm Erachet. I-I work at the, er, front desk.
Nice Person I Work For: Do you want me to take that?
Me: Uh...*puts T.H. on hold* It's Gwiffle's husband.
NPIWF: Oh, just tell him she's out and she'll call him back.
Me: Er, okay. *Completely forgetting how to use a phone, I proceed to press hold in order to get him back. It, of course, does not work. Then I accidentally made a conference call, I think, but I quickly hung up and just hoped T.H. had somehow gotten off the line*

Well, yes, that was a disaster. Luckily, that was pretty much the only one. Oh, then we had someone call who only spoke Spanish. That was fun.

Let's just say, I'm absolutely rubbish at answering the phone.

But to end this post on a happier note: FIFTY POSTS. HURRAH. Or, or, HUZZAH, even.