Hanukkah: Since a bunch of you have landed here by asking when Hanukkah starts, here’s your info: This year it begins at sundown on December 25. Or maybe not, as my Rite-Aid manager told me Hanukkah has been discontinued.

Cute Priest: Has anyone else noticed the cute priest that is always interviewed on the Today Show?

The Amazing Race: Am I missing something? I swear in past seasons when there have been production errors the teams are given a head start when they leave the next pit stop. This season they just randomly throw in crap about the car’s battery dying because of production errors and then the team moves into last place. Huh? Something’s goofy.

Annoyance: You know those things that Coffee Bean puts on the cup so that your hands don’t burn and you don’t sue them? Well, now they have advertisements on them! What is up with that?

Blog Stuff: My site was down again yesterday, this time for almost an hour. Needless to say, I backed everything up last night because I am paranoid. I am still looking for a new hosting company, preferably one who has an actual phone number and address unlike my current one (have I mentioned they suck?), so keep your suggestions coming.

In other blog news, my sister wants to write a post on my blog–what do you want her to write about? Topic suggestions are more than welcome!

And in more blogging news, Justin over at dude.man.phat has been nominated for a bunch of Gridskipper awards. Go vote for him. Not only because his blog is hysterical and he’s super nice in person, but also because he once asked to be Site of the Week on my blog. No one had ever asked me that before.

Update: My Farmer’s Market buddy (we need to go again soon!) Marissa at terra non firma has also been nominated. Go vote for her too!

Fun and busy weekend!

Friday night after work I hit Trader Joe’s. Nothing exciting to report there.

Saturday I did the pampering thing–nails, toes, and eyebrows, invited myself to Vegas with a friend next weekend (more on that later), then ran some errands. I came home and met up with Annabel Lee to go to the Arclight’s 21+ screening of Rent. Can I just say how much I love going to movies where a) they sell alcohol; and b) there aren’t annoying teenagers yapping throughout the whole thing? The movie was great, even the second time around. In fact, I think I enjoyed it more this time, and Adam Pascal and Rosario Dawson didn’t seem to bug me as much. Go figure.

After the movie we tried to hit Swingers for some late night food, but the parking situation there sucks and it was too cold and windy to park far away. [ed. note: Yeah, I'm a wimp. I know.] So we settled on Canter’s which was just as packed, but we got a spot. We ended up sitting right next to the Kibbitz Room area so it was kinda loud until the band stopped, but it ended up being a super fun night.

Sunday I slept in then bought my plane ticket to Vegas for this coming Friday. Here’s the more I promised you earlier–Annabel Lee is going to Vegas this Friday through Sunday for a work related thing. She’s never been, doesn’t know anyone else going, and has a room all paid for! So, naturally, I invited myself. I haven’t been in years, and am so exited! On the high of my pre-Vegas excitement, I ran a couple more errands, finished my Hanukkah shopping (about 80% of it online), and did laundry.

That evening it was off to the young professionals Gender Smackdown comedy thing at the UJ with a friend. I think there were about 10 women to every one guy and the event itself was a little weird. There were a few comics (none of whom I’ve dated, amazing I know), then this weird audience participation improv-esq speeddating thing. I didn’t volunteer, and thank god, because it looked quite painful. Anyway, my favorite set belonged to Ben Gleib, who was not only hysterical, but also totally adorable.

Now it’s time for me to crash. I think this cough I’ve had for the past week is finally turning into something more and I’m feeling really crappy. And we all know there is nothing worse than being sick in Vegas.

Because I got so many wonderful responses the last two times I asked for book suggestions, I thought I’d ask again. Have you read any good books lately? If so, what were they?

Also, if you read a book that someone posted about in the comments in part one or part two, let us know!

Some (really strange) recent searches that landed people here:

• online dating top 10 reasons not to answer my profile
• why cant you eat the silver ball candy decorations
• what do israel eat for christmas
• pictures about what freezes better warm water or saltwater
• who makes a frozen pie crusts that is flat?
• internet dating sucks
• leaving on a jet plane explained
• my sister castrated me
• i hate being single teenager
• what is irreconcilable intellects?
• ellen degeneres is a fan of jon stewart
• what are wee hours pls?
• rock down stars sky put them in your eyes blind as bat see
• trader joe s natural mountain spring water is it safe
• how to write a good jdate profile
• guy just want to be friends
• excuses for canceling a date
• flowers initiate first date
• my x is dating a married guy

As usual, use a few of these searches to write a story. And to all the new people, how did you get here?

Yay Me: I filed an objection with the City of Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Division in response to an unfair (capital improvement) rent increase my landlord requested. And I won. Just think of all the money I saved. Now I can feel better about buying my Bluetooth (it’s so cool!) and going to Vegas this weekend.

Speaking of Vegas, I haven’t been in over five years. (I know, shame on me.) Any suggestions on places to visit?

Books: Pauly D.’s new book, The Lost Blogs, is coming out in May, and you can pre-order it on Amazon now. You know it’s going to be hysterical, so what are you waiting for?

Help a Jew: What does “the 12 Days of Christmas” refer to?

Music: The Leevees (who I will be seeing next week when they open for Barenaked Ladies) have a song called Latke Clan which will be on the next episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

And in more music news, what’s the deal with KROQ and MTV being saturated with Matisyahu all of a sudden? Do people know he’s singing about G-d and the Messiah?

Site of the Week: The Consumerist

And with that, I’m off to Vegas tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Q. Have you bought your tree yet?
A. I don’t celebrate Christmas, I’m Jewish.

Q. But why don’t you have a tree? It’s a Pagan thing, not a religious thing.
A. Do you have a Menorah and light Hanukkah candles?

Q. What do you do on Christmas Eve?
A. Either a) Go to Stu and Lew; b) Go to a Jewish comedy thing at a Chinese restaurant [and meet a goy comic]; c) Go to my parents’ house for the weekend; or d) Stay home, watch all the Law & Order episodes saved on my Tivo, and enjoy a very quiet Los Angeles.

Q. What do you do on Christmas Day?
A. Either a) Go to or rent a movie; b) Go for Chinese food; c) Go to or rent a movie and go for Chinese food; d) Go to and rent a movie and go for Chinese food; or e) Any combination of a through d after helping serve Christmas dinner at a shelter/senior center/etc.

Q. Are you Scrooge?
A. Only when I’m forced to listen to Christmas music in a store/restaurant/public place and am wished a Merry Christmas for the 100th time. [ed. note: Please, please, please, wish people Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Please.]

Q. Have you ever decorated a Christmas tree?
A. Yes, in fifth grade at Marian’s house–we even strung popcorn and put it on the tree. And earlier this week, at my office.

Q. Have you finished your Christmas shopping?
A. I don’t celebrate Christmas, remember?

Q. You mean you don’t get gifts on Christmas?
A. Um, do you get gifts on Hanukkah? [ed. note: Why is this one so difficult for some people to comprehend?]

I believe that covers the basics. Check back in the spring for FAQ: Matzah and the Easter Bunny.

As the title says, seven of the following statements are true and one is a lie:

1. We were each kissed by married men.
2. To get rid of sketchy guys who hit on us, we told them we were girlfriends. After all, we were sharing a hotel room.
3. We each won $150 on Wheel of Fortune dollar slots.
4. One of us bought the other a lap dance.
5. One of us sang and danced with the pianist at a dueling piano bar.
6. One of us started out lucky (empty middle seat on the plane) and ended up unlucky (the shuttle to the hotel hit a car en route.)
7. We drank $45 worth of alcohol in less than 30 minutes.
8. We were told by someone referenced in one of the above that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Can you guess which one is the lie? Possiblity of more details to follow, once I do this foreign thing known as sleep.

Okay, not really, but I liked that title for the post. I just got back from the Barenaked Ladies concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Until this show, I’d never been to that venue, and I really liked it. The sound was great, the capacity is only 3000, and we had tenth row seats. How fucking awesome is that?

The Leevees opened for BNL, and they rocked. I was kind of bummed no one knew their tunes, but then again, they do have a potentially limited audience, considering their whole album is Hanukkah songs. It was really funny when they were introducing their song Goyim Friends and said “if you don’t know what Goyim means, you probably are one.” My friend and I were busting up.

Anyway, they only played for thirty minutes, and I was a little disappointed until….after their set they were signing autographs (I bought a Leevees t-shirt and got it signed, does that make me a dork?) and they announced they’re playing a full show at the Knitting Factory (a great venue, and where my cousin’s band played) this Thursday. It’s literally down the street from me and I am dying to go. Anyone want to go with? You can see five nice Jewish boys sing super funny Hanukkah songs. Any takers? Annabel Lee? It could be another adventure…

Back to the show. After The Leevees finished their Hanukkah set, a children’s choir from OC came on stage and sang both Christmas and Hanukkah songs. There was something a little weird about seeing a few dozen blond haired, blue eyed kids all dressed in red singing Hanukkah songs. Or maybe it’s just me.

Following the children’s choir, BNL began their two-hour-long set and it was awesome. They are definitely now one of my all-time favorite bands to see live. They just have this amazing stage presence and truly look like they’re having a great time playing. In addition to their regular album songs (and a song from their upcoming album), they did a bunch of Christmas and Hanukkah songs from their holiday album, which i really enjoyed, especially when Steve was singing the prayers over the Hanukkah candles. Is he Jewish? He did a great job. My favorite song of the night was If I Had $1000000 because it was obvious they were having fun with it and the audience was totally into it as well.

That’s as detailed as this recap is gonna get because I am beyond exhausted and I need to get some rest so I can make sure I have my voice back tomorrow in time for Speeddating. Yeah, Speeddating. Details to follow the event tomorrow night.

Also, I have some pics from the show on my new cellphone (shhh!), but I have no clue how to transfer them to the computer. I have a Razr phone (and a bluetooth, I heard that helps with the transfer)–anyone know how?

Speeddating: Sucked. My one YES put me as a NO. My dates included: a) one guy who wouldn’t speak to me at all. Apparently he wouldn’t speak to the girl next to me either, as she left right after their seven minutes were up; b) One guy who said, “I really like state capitals.” I’m still not sure what he meant; c) One guy who said he had a client ask him if $800 is too much to spend on a pillow; d) One guy I already knew as he is a friend of a friend. There were a few more, but I just can’t bring myself to re-live that wasted hour of my life anymore than I already have. At least last time I met someone and went on a couple dates before he got hit by the Bus.

And seriously, I don’t know why I even signed up for the event. Isn’t Jdate punishment enough?

Other things that suck: a) Finding out that one girl in my bookclub is engaged; b) another girl in bookclub is pregnant; c) a family friend is pregnant; d) not going to the Leevees show because everyone I know is busy and I’m too much of a wimp to go alone; e) accidentally reading online who won The Amazing Race–I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet. [ed. note: Just some clarification, they suck because I'm jealous. There, I said it. They rock for whomever they are happening to.]

Random: A few months ago I was corresponding with a guy on Jdate who lives up in Santa Barbara. We spoke on the phone but never ended up meeting. Then, yesterday I was RSVPing to a New Year’s party evite and his name was on the RSVP list right above mine.

Vegas: Want to know what the lie is? Sorry, still not telling. But in related to Vegas news, I was a little surprised more people (read: Luc) didn’t react to my finally putting pictures up for the Internets to see.

Reason #19,436 I Hate December: Matzoh Houses and Challah Sticky Bun Wreaths. Wrong. Just wrong.

That’s it.

With all the money I’ve spent on Jdate memberships this year, I could have paid for:

• An iPod. Or two.
• Lots of shoes.
• A really nice leather jacket.
• A few hundred iTunes downloads.
• A super duper KitchenAid mixer.
• Teeth whitening.
• Fifteen personal training sessions and cute workout clothes.
• Highlights and a haircut. A couple of times.
• Ten trips to Color Me Mine with my Little.
• A Blackberry and quite possibly a Bluetooth too.
• Tickets, including evil Ticketmaster fees, to about five concerts.
• A plane ticket to Vegas and have money left to gamble.
• Ten oil changes.
• A new digital camera.

But then, I’d have an empty blog. You guys owe me. Big time.

Recent random searches that landed people here:

• kirk gibson is a jerk [ed. note: as you know, I agree]
• cooking silver balls
• dating a jew at christmas
• happy hanukkah you big jew
• i am a 60years male person and want to suck penis of my brother in law who is 70 years male person
• snarky bastard
• ellen degeneres is a fan of jon stewart
• rock down stars sky put them in your eyes blind as bat see
• city of los angeles rent stabilization and capital improvements
• did lauren sanchez go bigger?
• breakup lines we need to talk not in love with you
• girlfriend test unlocking door
• the wheels on the bus go round and round kiss myass
• what do the chinese eat on christmas
• stupid fat ugly people pictures
• i want to marry an optometrist

And the number one search (besides superfluous and juxtaposition): i hate jdate

As usual, use a few of these searches to write a story. And to all the new people, how did you get here?

This weekend, I:

• Bought Hanukkah wrapping paper and wrapped my gifts. (Apparently Hanukkah has not been discontinued).
• Cleared out my TiVo.
• Bought a super cute pair of flats.
• Bought a super cute pair of cowboy boots.
• Filled out rebate forms for my new cellphone and paper shredder.
• Had a marathon email exchange with someone really cool.
• Read two chapters in my how to write a book proposal book. David, I’m almost done!
• Got stuck in ridiculous amounts of traffic near both the Grove and the Beverly Center.
• Found adult rather than kid size gloves that actually fit my tiny hands.
• Cleaned my apartment, which made me realize I so need to hire a cleaning lady.
• Took four freeways (101, 134, 2, 210) to go 28 miles.
• Went to a Hanukkah party for all the Bigs and Littles at the Hanukkah camp my Little is currently attending.
• Got dissed by my Little at the party. Apparently, her 12-year-old bunkmates are way cooler than her 31-year-old Big Sister. This is the first time in almost two years she hasn’t run over to me and given me a huge hug. I was sad.
• Ended up spending most of the party talking to a cute Big and his Little.
• Received four Jdate emails/teases that I can’t read (including one from a woman) because, say it with me now, my subscription expired.
• Wasted entirely too much time finally solving this game, thanks to Pauly.

It was a much needed relaxing weekend and I am so glad I stayed home to get everything done. Next weekend I’m off to San Diego for Chinese food and movies, then the following weekend I’m going to Seattle for New Year’s.

And, for you nosy folks, here are my new purchases:

From a 24-year-old woman seeking an um, woman:

I really enjoyed your profile. Please don’t be spooked that I “hotlisted” you; there’s no other way to express an interest in someone without doing that.

If you’d like to chat, great.

Peace. -
xxxxxx

As much as I joke about how dating a woman would be easier than dating a man, I’m just not there yet. Sorry.

[ed. note: This Jdate email has been made possible by the generosity of my parents. Please thank them for allowing me to continue to not meet nice Jewish boys, and entertain you in the process.]

On a somewhat related note, did anyone else watch So Jewtastic on VH1 tonight? What did you think?

Just as Annabel Lee did, I’m revisiting last year’s new year’s resolutions. Here they are, with my comments in bold:

1. Learn to snowboard. Anyone want to teach me?
   Never learned, although Kristin has kindly offered to teach me.
2. Find a writing job that allows me to be more creative.
   Had a few freelance gigs this year.
3. Go on five dates with the same person without finding something silly wrong with him. And vice versa.
   Yeah, this one didn’t happen.
4. Buy a new car.
   Decided to hang on to it since it’s paid off and in great condition.
5. Lose seven pounds.
   Check. And I even joined a gym.
6. Go back to Paris.
   Didn’t happen. But I did go to the Paris hotel in Vegas. I didn’t specify Paris, France now did I? Mmm hmm.
7. Start actually writing a book.
   I’m in the process of learning how to write a proper book proposal.
8. Get up enough nerve to cut my hair to my shoulders. It’s currently down to my lower back.
   Check! Seven inches chopped off!
9. Become better at saving money.
   Good boots are an investment, right mom?
10. Fall in love.
    Um yeah, need to work on this one.

For 2006, I’d like to complete the ones I didn’t do in 2005 and actually visit the inside of my gym, rather than just see it when I go to the Arclight. Hah.

Happy Birthday Dad! (Mom, please show him this.) I love you and can’t wait to see everyone this weekend!

No, you didn’t imagine it. There was another, slightly different post here before. (Yes, I know it’s still there via the RSS feeds, but oh well.) And yes, I deleted it. Hell, it’s my blog, I can do what I want. So with that said, let’s get back to our regularly scheduled Thursday Things.

Music: Did I mention that one of the guys from The Leevees emailed me back after I wrote them? So cool.

In other music news, I am still in love with Amoeba because not only did they have the Soup Dragons CD I wanted to replace, they also have old Guster stuff. Again, so cool.

Yum: Wednesday at work, we got a box of delicious Sweet Cake goodies from a former co-worker. They. Are. So. Good.

TV: I realized I never posted about the Linz family winning TAR. I am so glad they won. I just don’t know what I’m going to do until the next season starts–a few months of not seeing Phil’s huge bulge? How will I survive?

Blog: Wednesday night was our second blogger bash, and just like the first one, it was a lot of fun–good company, good food, and good drink.

In other blog news, I’ve been told that it’s no longer acceptable for my external links to open in a new window, and that that decision should be left to the reader. Is this true? Do you find them annoying?

New question: Is there a stat counter type thing that will track visitors who get here via a feed?

And in unrelated to any of the above news: After a quick visit at work with Santa (don’t ask) on Friday, I will be off to San Diego where I will, in totally random order: go back to the batting cages with my dad (softball pitch, not 60-mph fastball this time), hopefully go through my boxes of baseball cards in my parents’ garage (told ya I was a tomboy growing up), see a movie, eat Chinese food, visit JAB and the kids, get a manicure/pedicure, and sleep (a lot). I desperately need this weekend.

Happy Holidays!

Thank you: To Ari, also known as the future Kate to my Alli, who is enabling my baking obsession by sending me super cool silicone cupcake liners that I can’t wait to use!

Belated welcome: To everyone who got here via the busblog (and sorry you couldn’t make it to the shindig the other night Tony).

Cast of characters: Since a few of you have asked me how I am related to some of my regular commenters (in a non-blog way), here’s the answer:

Hil’s mom: Obviously, my mom
Bethany: My sister
JAB: Julie, my best friend since junior high
Elise: My sister’s friend

Happy things of the week: Weather in the 70s and cute non-Hipster guys at the gym who smile and say hello.

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and please think good freeway* thoughts for me on Friday afternoon.

*JAB, I’ll be in the car for at least two hours–let’s chat and make plans. And I hope you’re feeling better!

I was going to make my dad mini chocolate cupcakes with chocolate fudge frosting, but at the last minute he changed his mind and wanted an old childhood favorite, peanut butter chocolate pinwheel cookies. My grandma used to make them for my dad when he was a kid, and they’re still his favorite to this day.

They’re basically a crisp peanut butter cookie with a swirl of chocolate inside. Recipe here.

Friday
Drove down to San Diego in the afternoon and got stuck in a bit of traffic. That evening, had sushi with my family then spent over an hour at the grocery store. Don’t ask. We came home, my mom made my sister a kugel, we watched tv, played on the Internet, then crashed.

Saturday
I slept in (yay!) and my mom made matzo ball soup for me and Bethany to take back to LA. She froze it in individual containers so we can pull them out and have soup when we get sick. How cool is my mom? After the soup, I baked peanut butter chocolate pinwheel cookies for my dad’s birthday then we saw Brokeback Mountain (eh) then had a most delicious [belated birthday] dinner at Piatti’s in La Jolla. During dinner I was reminded of how much of a lightweight my mom is. One glass of wine and she’s totally drunk. Funny night.

Sunday
Santa didn’t visit us, so we all slept in (yay again!) then took the dog and walked to downtown Del Mar where we had brunch at the only restaurant open in all of the city. That evening we saw Rumor Has It (eh again, as expected) and decided to forgo latkes and instead opted for Chinese food, thus carrying on the Jewish tradition. Following dinner we all decided we wanted ice cream and tried about four stores, including a 7-11, before we found an open and very crowded Rite-Aid. We came home, lit the candles, then stuffed ourselves even more. A very Jewish Christmas.

Monday
I slept in (yay yet again!) then the whole family, including the dog, hit the Carlsbad outlet mall for some shopping and lunch. Bad idea. The place was packed and the parking lot total chaos. Instead, we opted for lunch elsewhere, then I hit the road and headed back to LA with a quick stop in OC. Remember Guy I Used To Date With The Same First Name As Margarita Guy? [ed. note: He was pre-blog. We dated, he and his ex tried (unsuccessfully) to get back together. We dated again, his dad passed away, his mom got depressed, and he had to take over his dad’s firm. Things got crazy/busy/stressful, I became a super good friend to him, and he decided he wasn’t in a good emotional state to be dating.] Well, we talked about getting together last year but it never happened. So, after a weekend of emails, text messages, and voicemails, we finally got together today. I met him at his office (he’s still a workaholic) then joined him for a drink while he had lunch. We caught up on a lot, he apologized again, and we talked about getting together sometime soon. As friends people, as friends.

Random notes: I did not a) see JAB and the boys as her little one is sick; b) make it to the batting cages with my dad; or c) get anywhere near my baseball cards. I did, however a) eat, a lot; b) see a couple of movies; c) eat even more; and d) have an awesome weekend with my family.

It’s only Tuesday but it’s been a busy yet potential-less week in Jdate-land. As always, pasted verbatim:

Bachelor #1, IM
You look hot. I like your enchantingsmile. would you care for a conversation

Bachelor #2, Email (following a “click”)
Merry christmass …. Is that bad on a jewish web site? Clicked? may I should click that little red heart on the j-date soft ware….go god what will they think of next…matching photo bucket Icon?

Bachelor #3, IM
HI CAN YOU CHAT

Bachelor #3, Email
Subject: IM CONFUSED
Message: HOW COME ALL THE WOMEN ON HERE ALWAYS LOOK AT A PROFILE AND NEVER SAY HI?

Bachelor #4, Email
Subject: Interesting…
Message: …There seems to be an “upsurge” in activity on Jdate…is this because I posted new pictures…(which are not viewable as of right now…near as I can tell)…or because night three of Channukah is easier? Perhaps we’ll never know.
So…I figured it was time to send out an email or two…ok…just one.
As you can probably tell…I am not necessarily very good at this whole writing someone that I have never met before thing…so please bear with me.

Bachelor #5, Email
Subject: hi
Message: hi

Bachelor #6, Email
Subject: I am
Message: so bad at this…coffee sometime?

In addition to the above emails and IMs, I also received four “flirts” from men old enough to be my father. Yuck.

Blog: I’ve been thinking. My regular readers know so much about me, yet I know nothing about you guys. So I propose that each of you tell me something about yourself–whatever you want, so I can have a better idea of who is actually reading my blog. I know there are at least a few hundred of you who read everyday, and I think it would be fun to hear about you.

More Blog Stuff: I have been nominated for a Jewish & Israeli Blog (JIB) Award in the Best Personal Blog category. Thank you to whomever nominated me, and I’ll keep you guys posted as to when the voting begins. In the meantime, check out some of the other great nominated blogs.

Hosting: On my Wordpress Dashboard, I noticed a link about Wordpress and Yahoo! working together on blog hosting. Since we all know how much I dislike my hosting company, I was thinking about switching to Yahoo! Apparently, they will install Wordpress and perform all the updates so that the user doesn’t have to do anything, which sounds pretty damn cool to me. Anyone have any experience with using them for hosting?

Another Vacation: I’m leaving for Seattle Saturday morning and am so excited! Not only will I finally be able to catch up with my friend, I’ll get to see my cousin who I haven’t seen since his band played down here earlier this year.

Dating Related Things I Won’t Do In 2006: WeddingChannel.com, Google, Friendster, or MySpace (yes, those are all verbs now) anyone I have dated; search for blogs of anyone I have dated; accept a date with anyone I have dated; question whether I should have married The Ex after college.

Girls Night Out: Last night was a super fun night out with Annabel Lee and Eve. Further proof that good things and new friendships do indeed come from blogging.

Site of the Week: Double Lives

Have a fun and safe New Year’s Eve!

Tonight’s the sixth night of Hanukkah. In case you noticed there are seven candles, it’s because the middle candle, called the shamash (helper), is used to light the others.

I’m off to cold and rainy Seattle in the very early morning. Happy holidays and have a fun and safe new year!