December 19, 2003

Remind me never to part with tradition and do something special for my parents. I think I'm jinxed.

It started when I wanted to get dad a new tefillin bag and somehow I sought to have the tefillin checked and if necessary re-kashered. He hadn't had this done since he was Bar Mitzvah in 1937. Since their acquisition, they traveled from Berlin to Shanghai to throughout the USA. Maybe he took them with him to Israel and France when he visited family? Don't know...

For those who don't know, and the Christians above all others should because damnit we minorities know YOUR fucking religion from having it rammed down our throats that the least you can do in the name of mutual respect (I'm calling your bluff here) is learn and understand the basics... Tefillin is from the Hebrew word "tefilah" (Teh FEE lah) meaning prayers. They are handmade leather boxes containing basic prayers, similar to those on mezuzah (lookit up) which state in a nutshell that "God is One and don't forget it" handwritten on parchment. There are two of them, one for the head and an adjustable strap secures it from the back of the head and trails down the back. The other is on the arm and the strap for that is wrapped yea number of times and then secured at the hand. This is worn during prayer in synagogue or in the presence of a Minyan (10 Bar Mitzvahed men) when there is no holiday or the individual is not in a period of mourning.

A place came highly recommended. Some Judaica place off Herald Square. They took them and 30-something off my card for checking. I said I had little time because he had Yatzeit in ten days. A week before they came back - the Sofer (rabbi who handles and maintains and builds and inspects and kashers tefillin) said the head one was messed up to the point that it wasnt enough to replace the parchment of prayers. The arm one was fine. $150.

They tried to charge the 30-something again. And he threw me new tefillin and a bag with BOTH old ones in pieces. Dad wasn't happy either. I sought advice from a rabbi to confirm I was ripped off since I got excuses of varying range: Well it wasn't kosher (then why wasn't the kosher one re-assembled?) - they're too small (the normal size for Europe at that time was about a third smaller)...

So they got them back with the demand to do it as agreed for the money I paid. They're ready for picking up. Should I be worried? We'll see on Monday. Dad had to use the clunky big ones for the Yartzeit and they'll go back.

All this because I wanted to do something special... Those things survived the Nazis and a Shanghai ghetto, but they couldn't survive a Sofer.

DD 4:09pm EST on Friday, Dec 19, 2003

It's been so long since I've ridden The Retard's scheduled train. Either I cut out a couple of minutes early or have an acupuncture or physical therapy appointment. Sometimes I have an errand to pursue. It's good to be able to do some of those again. Movements have gotten easier and less painful - except in the mornings. For the most part.

I'm disappointed though that I can't sit over a drawing board the way I am accustomed. But I was wable to draw my first cartoon for the Cybertown Mall since October.

I'll take off tomorrow to do that pencil sketch for CARPE. Yes, they've been procrastinating Robert Picardo's final fan club newsletter and casually waiting for a drawing. They have already a fiction. I want it to debut there before posting it to the a.s.c newsgroup and my site I, Holodoc.

DD 4:02pm EST on Friday, Dec 19, 2003

Actually, I want to review the theatre:

The following week I went to see Looney Tunes Back in Action. No video prelims altogether. Showtime came and went. After five minutes I went outside to tell them the projectionist didn't show up (this is a block's walk). When whomever finally started up the projector, they forgot to dim the lights. After trailers the film started with the lights up and someone else went out to tell them.

DD 3:47pm EST on Friday, Dec 19, 2003

A few more entwining circumstances have occurred in the interim.

Opting for acupuncture rather than be pumped with cortizone, I learned from my insurance that if the Acupuncturist was either an MD or licensed Osteopath on the network, he was fully covered with a $15 copay. As it happens, a co-worker in the office went to one across the street. Isn't it how destiny places things?

My Physical Therapist gave me some exercises I could do while standing up since lying on my back causes the leg to tingle. Come back in about two or three weeks once I've gotten some "pain management" out of the way.

Naturally something had to ruin progress. [more]

DD 1:05pm EST on Friday, Dec 19, 2003

I learned this lumbar support cushion was available, so I ordered one at the office. It seemed to work, so I ordered one at home from Staples. What a lifesaver! I can do stuff again and my leg doesn't go numb. Life sitting bolt upright is - to say the least - interesting.

DD 12:17pm EST on Friday, Dec 19, 2003

December 18, 2003

The following Monday morning I arrived early enough that I was seen less than 90 minutes after my arrival. The Orthopedist pointed out in the films what was occurring. A herniated disk was bulging out and irritating a nerve called "secal." He recommended "pain management," possibly a cortizone shot, and continued physical therapy. He felt it wasn't serious enough to worry about and that with that regimen it would subside. Someone's gotta lose weight.

The day ended with my losing the Welcoming Team job in iCity for being one week late with my monthly logs. They require going through 40mb of html loaded into IE and I couldnt sit that long to fish for the instances. As it turned out, someone new took over the superior position and - with 5-10 Hebrew-speaking people sitting idle in their homes nightly to sell off their stuff - I would be expected to submit logs weekly. No thanks. I'll see about an Employment Center job. Now that no one can advance from lurking and mission assignments are snapped up as soon as they are loaded into the kiosks, a job is the only real way to get anywhere in privileges.

In Cybertown we'r back in Sci-Fi colony. With C-level officials purged of undesirables and the Holodeck devoid of residents, the entourage which has developed around me - and I guess I should be flattered but it makes me uncomfortable - followed suit and now the block is half filled.

DD 4:03pm EST on Thursday, Dec 18, 2003