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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" dir="ltr" lang="en"> <head profile="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11"><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("http://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://hineini.wordpress.com:80/category/uncategorized/","20081024210143","http://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1224882103"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/> <title>Uncategorized « Hineini: Wherever I Go, There I Am</title> <meta name="generator" content="WordPress.com"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143cs_/http://s3.wordpress.com/wp-content/themes/pub/cutline/style.css?m=1223047806a" type="text/css" media="screen"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Hineini: Wherever I Go, There I Am RSS Feed" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/feed/"/> <link rel="pingback" href="http://hineini.wordpress.com/xmlrpc.php"/> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ function addLoadEvent(func) { var oldonload = window.onload; if (typeof window.onload != 'function') { window.onload = func; } else { window.onload = function() { oldonload(); func(); } } } /* ]]> */ </script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143cs_/http://s.wordpress.com/wp-content/themes/h4/global.css?m=1216490394a" type="text/css"/> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="http://hineini.wordpress.com/xmlrpc.php?rsd"/> <link rel="wlwmanifest" type="application/wlwmanifest+xml" href="http://hineini.wordpress.com/wp-includes/wlwmanifest.xml"/> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/https://ssl." : "http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var wpcomPageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-52447-2"); wpcomPageTracker._setDomainName("wordpress.com"); wpcomPageTracker._initData(); wpcomPageTracker._trackPageview(); </script> <link rel="introspection" type="application/atomserv+xml" title="Atom API" href="http://hineini.wordpress.com/wp-app.php"/> <link rel="openid.server" href="http://hineini.wordpress.com/?openidserver=1"/> <link rel="openid.delegate" href="http://hineini.wordpress.com/"/> </head> <body> <div id="container"> <div id="masthead"><h1><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/">Hineini: Wherever I Go, There I Am</a></h1></div> <ul id="nav"> <li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/">Front Page</a></li> <li class="page_item page-item-2"><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/about/" title="About">About</a></li> <li class="page_item page-item-6"><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/contact/" title="CONTACT">CONTACT</a></li> </ul> <div id="header_img"> <img src="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143im_/http://hineini.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/cropped-mohonk.jpg" width="770" height="140" alt=""/> </div> <div id="content_box"> <div id="content" class="posts"> <h2 class="archive_head">Entries categorized as ‘Uncategorized’</h2> <div id="post-39" class="post hentry category-uncategorized category-about-me category-nature category-photographs"> <h2><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/are-you-still-there/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Are you still there?">Are you still there?</a></h2> <h4>June 18, 2008 · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/are-you-still-there/#comments" title="Comment on Are you still there?">1 Comment</a></h4> <div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"><p>I’ve basically abandoned this blog. I have more on my plate than I can keep up with! Here’s the downlow:</p> <p>* I have a serious partner who I’ve been with for a year. We’re moving in together this weekend… in another NJ. Whoa.</p> <p>* Hoping to be a full-time student in the fall.</p> <p>* A bunch of new projects I’m working on. Organizing things, writing things, creating things. Cool stuff.</p> <p>More than I could ever write about really… But I wanted to just give a little update to let you know I’m still here. Hoping to write more when I have the chance. In the meantime, here is the view from my window the other day:</p> <p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v418/daggerdesigns/?action=view&current=IMG_1912.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143im_/http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/daggerdesigns/IMG_1912.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/></a></p> <p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v418/daggerdesigns/?action=view&current=IMG_1913.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143im_/http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/daggerdesigns/IMG_1913.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/></a></p> <p>They were frolicking near my garlic patch. And let me tell you, that fawn sure was cute… Too bad it’ll grow up to be a garden-wrecking monster like it’s mommy.</p> <p>Yesterday I saw a fawn about that size galloping down a sidewalk in the village. Hope it found its way home.</p> </div> </div> <p class="tagged"><strong>Categories:</strong> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/about-me/" title="View all posts in about me" rel="category tag">about me</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/nature/" title="View all posts in nature" rel="category tag">nature</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/photographs/" title="View all posts in photographs" rel="category tag">photographs</a> </p> </div> <div id="post-38" class="post hentry category-uncategorized"> <h2><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/38/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to "></a></h2> <h4>November 28, 2007 · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/38/#comments" title="Comment on ">1 Comment</a></h4> <div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"><p><b>Speechless</b><br/> <span style="text-align:center; display: block;"><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BF5yJklH_jA"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143oe_/http://www.youtube.com/v/BF5yJklH_jA&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></span></p> </div> </div> <p class="tagged"><strong>Categories:</strong> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/" title="View all posts in Uncategorized" rel="category tag">Uncategorized</a> </p> </div> <div id="post-34" class="post hentry category-friends category-uncategorized category-about-me category-cooking category-gardening category-gender category-judaism category-nature category-queer category-shabbat"> <h2><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/august/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to August.">August.</a></h2> <h4>August 20, 2007 · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/august/#comments" title="Comment on August.">6 Comments</a></h4> <div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"><p>Other things that have been going on:</p> <ul> <li> My birthday came and went last week. My parents took me out for a fabulous dinner and I found myself able to relax and enjoy it enough to stop feeling so bummed out that all my Oakland friends weren’t here to celebrate with me.</li> <li>My friend E and her lovely boyfriend M visited from Oakland the day after I got back from the National Havurah Committee Summer Institute. It was so fun showing them the Hudson Valley and seeing them enjoy some time in the country after their hectic week touring New York City.</li> <li>E and M and myself hiked around <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://www.lakeminnewaska.org/photos/displayimage.php?album=49&pos=2">Lake Minnewaska</a>. That was a huge accomplishment for me, because it’s been several years since I’ve been able to do any significant hiking due to my constant physical pain. It was triumphant, and due in no small part to the fabulous care I’ve been giving my body and the miraculous medication I have been on for 6 months now. I hope this is only the beginning of my getting back into hiking and enjoying nature in a more active way.</li> <li>I am getting ready to go back to school on Monday - For the first time in 8 years, I will be a student in a significant way (i.e. taking more than one class at a time).</li> <li>Cherry tomatoes and swiss chard are the major harvests right now, with some cucumbers thrown in there. My edamame are doing well - I am actually going to be able to harvest a few soon. I also need to get out there and harvest some collard greens. I have been sadly neglecting my garden but I’m getting ready to put in fall crops, which will be fun.</li> <li>Spent Shabbat with Chab*d here. It was nice, until a guest (not the Rabbi or Rebbetzin) went on a homophobic tirade. I almost walked out, but chose not to. Homophobic assholes suck, but I won’t let them ruin my day. I found the Rabbi and his wife very warm and kind and more open-minded than I expected, and the food was wonderful. I will probably return at some point.</li> <li>Found a synagogue that I think I like - A Conservative congregation that was very warm and welcoming. I don’t want to get too excited since I only attended once, but it seems like something closer to what I’ve been looking for than any of the shuls I’ve attended here yet.</li> <li>Today I am going to try cooking gluten-free, kosher Jamaican-inspired meat patties! The weather has been so cool that I’ve gotten excited about cooking again.</li> <li>People who know me will be surprised and/or amused to know that I put on a skirt for the first time in about 11 years on Friday for my dinner at Chab*d house. It was a real head-trip, gender-wise. It was also kind of fun, and less uncomfortable than I’d anticipated. I am trying to be less scared of gender fluidity, and more comfortable expressing both the masculine and feminine parts of myself. It was a fascinating experiment for me that showed me a lot about myself. And OK, it was also just plain bizarre.</li> <li>My newest time-waster is looking at Hudson Valley real estate listings online. Especially listings for cheap land in this area.</li> </ul> <p>Mmm… leafy greens (dinosaur kale, with rainbow chard in the background):</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143im_/http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/daggerdesigns/IMG_0999.jpg"/></p> </div> </div> <p class="tagged"><strong>Categories:</strong> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/friends/" title="View all posts in Friends" rel="category tag">Friends</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/about-me/" title="View all posts in about me" rel="category tag">about me</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/cooking/" title="View all posts in cooking" rel="category tag">cooking</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/gardening/" title="View all posts in gardening" rel="category tag">gardening</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/gender/" title="View all posts in gender" rel="category tag">gender</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/judaism/" title="View all posts in judaism" rel="category tag">judaism</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/nature/" title="View all posts in nature" rel="category tag">nature</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/queer/" title="View all posts in queer" rel="category tag">queer</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/shabbat/" title="View all posts in shabbat" rel="category tag">shabbat</a> </p> </div> <div id="post-33" class="post hentry category-uncategorized category-family category-judaism category-shabbat category-spirituality"> <h2><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/havdalah-marking-the-difference/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Havdalah: Marking the Difference">Havdalah: Marking the Difference</a></h2> <h4>August 20, 2007 · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/havdalah-marking-the-difference/#respond" title="Comment on Havdalah: Marking the Difference">No Comments</a></h4> <div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"><p>I love that my parents like joining with me in doing <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/havdalah.html">Havdalah</a> on Saturday nights. They do not observe Shabbat the way that I do, but since moving back they have enjoyed marking of the ending and beginning of the week with me. They share in the wine we bless and my mother has taken to giving me her own improvised blessing for a good week. I love how happy it made my mom when I first invited her to do Havdalah with me when I moved home. She loves the (Debbie Freedman?) tune that she knows for the prayers, so we do that one. I showed my mom how to hold her hands up to the light of the candle, to notice the shadows of our curved fingers on our palms, and the glow of the light through our fingertips, acknowledging the contrast of light and dark just as we mark the difference between Shabbat and the rest of the week week, and the separation of holy from secular. My folks have had a <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://www.shopisraeltoday.com/photos/Candles/C-havdalah%2025.jpg">Havdalah candle</a> they bought in Israel hanging on the wall for years and never used it - Now it gets shorter and shorter every week. “I knew we bought it for a reason,” my mom says.</p> <p>Living with my family is challenging at times. Mostly it is hard on my self-esteem, that as an independent adult who has been living on their own since the age of 16, life put me in a position to have to make the choice to move in with my parents. I can’t stand needing anything from them. I take it too personally and at times assume it means I have failed in some way, despite the fact that rationally I know that the health problems that made this necessary are out of my control. There are also familial conflicts, and as is to be expected, some frustration with the lack of privacy and personal space. But I am also trying to find the small joys in living in a house as a family. One of them is rituals. When I move out in a few months I will miss having people to do Havdalah with. I wonder if my parents will hang the Havdalah candle back up on the wall or if they will occasionally find the time to do this ritual together, marking the ending of Shabbat and the beginning of a new week.</p> </div> </div> <p class="tagged"><strong>Categories:</strong> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/family/" title="View all posts in family" rel="category tag">family</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/judaism/" title="View all posts in judaism" rel="category tag">judaism</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/shabbat/" title="View all posts in shabbat" rel="category tag">shabbat</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/spirituality/" title="View all posts in spirituality" rel="category tag">spirituality</a> </p> </div> <div id="post-31" class="post hentry category-uncategorized category-gardening category-judaism"> <h2><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/08/05/new-hampshire-bound/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to New Hampshire bound….">New Hampshire bound….</a></h2> <h4>August 5, 2007 · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/08/05/new-hampshire-bound/#comments" title="Comment on New Hampshire bound….">1 Comment</a></h4> <div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"><p>I’m off to the <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://www.havurah.org/index.php?section=article&album_id=3&PHPSESSID=8c5ab8238e20062e4d329f3589db732a">National Havurah Committee’s Summer Institute</a> in Rindge, NH. A week of prayer, community, learning, socializing and relaxing. Sounds like heaven right about now. This has been a very, very hard week.</p> <p>In the meantime, I leave you with cucumber. I love how squashes and cukes have the shriveled up corpse of the flower they used to be, attached at the end. They push themselves outwards, but stay attached to their former, showier (but less delicious) selves until they are fully formed and ready to eat.</p> <p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143im_/http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/daggerdesigns/IMG_0991.jpg" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" border="0"/></a></p> </div> </div> <p class="tagged"><strong>Categories:</strong> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/gardening/" title="View all posts in gardening" rel="category tag">gardening</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/judaism/" title="View all posts in judaism" rel="category tag">judaism</a> </p> </div> <div id="post-23" class="post hentry category-uncategorized category-country-living category-judaism category-nature category-prayers-and-praying category-shabbat"> <h2><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/06/18/a-shehecheyanu-for-the-summers-first-fireflies/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to A Shehecheyanu for the Summer’s First Fireflies">A Shehecheyanu for the Summer’s First Fireflies</a></h2> <h4>June 18, 2007 · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/06/18/a-shehecheyanu-for-the-summers-first-fireflies/#comments" title="Comment on A Shehecheyanu for the Summer’s First Fireflies">1 Comment</a></h4> <div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"><p>I lay in bed on Friday night, tossing and turning. I am new at keeping Shabbat in a traditional way, which includes not turning lights or other electrical appliances on or off, so earlier in the evening I had unconsciously flicked off the little lamp I usually keep on in my bedroom throughout Shabbat. Once off, there was no way I was going to turn the light on, so I had to forgo my usual nighttime reading, which is what generally helps me get drowsy enough to sleep. My insomnia hit me full-force and there was nothing to do about it except practice the relaxation exercises I’ve learned over the many years I’ve struggled with sleep and the lack thereof.</p> <p>As I lay in bed I kept being distracted by the sound of persistent insects banging into my screen in an attempt to get into my room - An ordinary summertime sound that was particularly grating as I tried to will myself to sleep. Around midnight I finally nodded off.</p> <p>As I had just begun to sleep I was startled awake by a soft buzzing noise and the sensation of lights blinking on and off just beyond my closed eyelids. I opened my eyes to see neon-bright spots of light blinking and darting around the room. I was sure I was hallucinating at first. Another light, this one more diffuse, suddenly appeared behind the white shade over my window and moved around as though it was trying to escape. My first sleepy thought was “Tinkerbell?!?”</p> <p>I was awake now, and this very odd way to be jolted out of sleep suddenly made sense to my sleep-muddled brain: The first fireflies of the season had pushed their way through my screen and were dancing around in the blackness of my bedroom. Their closeness to me, and the darkness of my room, made them seem so bright it was hard to believe it could be insects putting on the electric light show that was illuminating my otherwise dark Shabbos night.</p> <p>I lay back in bed after a few minutes, and took the time to say a <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Shehecheyanu.html">shechecheyanu</a> before I fell sound asleep, with the fireflies still dancing and buzzing and blinking their way across my room.</p> </div> </div> <p class="tagged"><strong>Categories:</strong> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/country-living/" title="View all posts in country living" rel="category tag">country living</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/judaism/" title="View all posts in judaism" rel="category tag">judaism</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/nature/" title="View all posts in nature" rel="category tag">nature</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/prayers-and-praying/" title="View all posts in prayers and praying" rel="category tag">prayers and praying</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/shabbat/" title="View all posts in shabbat" rel="category tag">shabbat</a> </p> </div> <div id="post-13" class="post hentry category-uncategorized category-gardening"> <h2><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/05/07/another-garden-update/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Another Garden Update">Another Garden Update</a></h2> <h4>May 7, 2007 · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/05/07/another-garden-update/#comments" title="Comment on Another Garden Update">1 Comment</a></h4> <div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"><p>Now planted:</p> <ul> <li>Turnips</li> <li>Turnip greens</li> <li>Mustard greens</li> <li>Scallions</li> <li>Sage</li> <li>Parsley</li> <li>Cilantro</li> <li>Lacinato kale</li> <li>Bok choy</li> </ul> <p>Next up:</p> <ul> <li>Leeks</li> <li>Red onions</li> <li>Broccoli</li> </ul> <p>Purchased for later planting:</p> <ul> <li>Jalapeno peppers</li> </ul> <p>Coming soon (soon as I find the cord that connects my digital camera to my computer, that is): Lotsa photographs!</p> <p>Questions of the day:</p> <p>1) Why do people buy seedlings for plants that are ridiculously easy and cheap to plant from seed?</p> <p>2) Why do people buy seedlings that they won’t be able to set out in their gardens for months?</p> </div> </div> <p class="tagged"><strong>Categories:</strong> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/gardening/" title="View all posts in gardening" rel="category tag">gardening</a> </p> </div> <div id="post-10" class="post hentry category-uncategorized category-country-living category-hometown category-queer"> <h2><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/this-town/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to This Town.">This Town.</a></h2> <h4>May 4, 2007 · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/this-town/#comments" title="Comment on This Town.">2 Comments</a></h4> <div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"><p>This town has changed so much. Someone once told me that when Thai restaurants open up in towns or neighborhoods without Thai populations, that is a sure sign of impending gentrification. This has nothing to do with the proprietors of the restaurants and everything to do with white yuppies’ predilection for Thai cuisine. I think of that when I pass by the Thai restaurant here. Don’t get me wrong, I love Thai food a whole lot. And Indian food (there are two new Indian restaurants). And sushi (three new restaurants). And the new vegan deli / restaurant, too. What I don’t love is way this town has become a tourist haven and is now catered to city folk. I am not crazy about my high school hangouts being gone and replaced by yoga studios and boutiques and fine dining, either. I’d rather take greasy spoon diners and lower rents.</p> <p>I talked last night with a childhood friend about what it’s like to grow up in a small town and see it transform into something you don’t recognize and don’t particularly like. Our mixed feelings about the increased number of gay and lesbian folks who moved here from New York City since ‘01- How it’s great to see more LGBT people around and experience less gay-bashing, but how much it sucks that this is correlated with the town becoming yuppified, with property values and rents increasing, and with the town’s funky rural-farm-town-meets-ex-hippieville-meets-college-town vibe diminishing with every new development and Starbucks and Stop & Shop.</p> <p>Gentrification and movement up here from New York City is a mixed bag. Last night I went to a benefit show in town, which included some excellent live hip hop show- Local(ish) acts <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://www.myspace.com/broadcastlive">Broadcast Live</a> and <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://myspace.com/readnex">ReadNex Poetry Squad</a>. It was a good time. Conscious political hip hop in this little town, who woulda thunk it?</p> <p>Influx of money into this town has brought some good: Massive expansion of the public library. A new health food store with lots of gluten-free goodies for me. Improvements to the public schools.</p> <p>I barely recognize the village when I drive through it. But then I drive out onto the backroads, where there are no street lights and no coffee shops and no lines painted on the road… Just miles of road with sweet old houses, delapidated barns, apple orchards… And I know that this is, indeed, the place where I was raised. The place that infused the country into my blood so that after 8 years in the city I still missed open spaces and u-pick apples and grazing horses and $4 movie matinees.</p> </div> </div> <p class="tagged"><strong>Categories:</strong> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/country-living/" title="View all posts in country living" rel="category tag">country living</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/hometown/" title="View all posts in hometown" rel="category tag">hometown</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/queer/" title="View all posts in queer" rel="category tag">queer</a> </p> </div> <div id="post-5" class="post hentry category-uncategorized category-driving category-judaism category-prayers-and-praying category-queer"> <h2><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/kindness-queerness-and-a-return-to-the-country-life/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Kindness, queerness and a return to the country life.">Kindness, queerness and a return to the country life.</a></h2> <h4>May 2, 2007 · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://hineini.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/kindness-queerness-and-a-return-to-the-country-life/#comments" title="Comment on Kindness, queerness and a return to the country life.">1 Comment</a></h4> <div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"><p>I went to a little market yesterday where a cute gay boy employee followed me around being way too helpful, making small talk with me. When we were at the corner of the store he leaned in close and whispered “are you gay?” Having lived in the Bay Area for 6 years, I can’t remember the last time someone was so excited to see another queer person. It’s not like there aren’t other gay people here, but it’s definitely a small enough population that it’s still actually exciting to see another person who’s “family.” It’s a nice change, this assumption that visibly queer folks should be friendly to one another.</p> <p>I went to Agway, the farm and garden supply store, and bought seeds while daydreaming about buying some chicks. I called a dear friend back in Oakland, who chuckled when I told her I was walking down the horse-grooming aisle and by the feed buckets. She said “You’re really in the country, huh?”</p> <p>My mother and I took a walk down Main Street, where I ran into my middle school guidance counselor and the father of a childhood Hebrew School friend, all within 5 minutes. I was surprised to be recognized, and the warmth and affection I was welcomed with.</p> <p>I drove all alone yesterday for the first time ever - First to town and back, then for miles and miles along country backroads as the sun went down, in search of this middle-of-nowhere soft-serve ice cream stand where my best friend and I used to go during high school. I got seriously lost and ended up in another county. But I finally got my ice cream. Chocolate and vanilla soft-serve, with rainbow sprinkles.</p> <p>When I got home it was 9:30 PM already and I noticed that all the stars were out, and glowing like little Christmas lights in the sky. You don’t notice how faded and sometimes invisible the constellations are in the city until you leave it. I sat in the hammock in the yard and stared up at the night sky through the tops of the budding trees, and said Sh’ma. G-d is so much more present with me when I am in close proximity to nature.</p> <p>It really started to sink in yesterday that I am here. The part that has not sunk in yet, and probably won’t for quite a while, is that I’m not just here for a brief vacation.</p> </div> </div> <p class="tagged"><strong>Categories:</strong> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/driving/" title="View all posts in driving" rel="category tag">driving</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/judaism/" title="View all posts in judaism" rel="category tag">judaism</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/prayers-and-praying/" title="View all posts in prayers and praying" rel="category tag">prayers and praying</a> · <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20081024210143/http://wordpress.com/tag/queer/" title="View all posts in queer" rel="category tag">queer</a> </p> </div> <div class="navigation"> <div class="previous"></div> <div class="next"></div> </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div id="sidebar"> <ul 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