Death Is A New Feeling

Many people have experienced deaths of someone close to them.

Be it a friend in elementary/high school who had cancer. A family member of old age. Or many other options.

Others have never experienced it.

And then Cory Monteith died.

Sure, Cory was 31 years old, and died of a drug/alcohol overdose, but to many teenagers, this was their first idol, who they had an attachment to, to die.

Yes, many other stars have died at young ages, regardless the cause, but I think this one is the first that affects the American youth as a whole.

Whilst Amy Winehouse was 27, her major fan base in America was people in their 20s. The same for Heath Ledger, and Brittany Murphy, all with slightly older fan bases.
Even Aaliyah, who was 22 at the time she died, didn't have the same impact on teenagers in America.

The fact that this happened when schools were out, may be a blessing, since the next time these kids think about it will be late September, when Glee returns for 3 episodes (the third of which will be a Cory/Finn tribute), before going on an indefinite hiatus.

If they had been in school, they would've talked about it a lot more amongst each other, possibly needing some people on hand, to help them though the "difficult times".

The way I see it, by September, most of them won't remember it as strongly, and when Glee returns, they will help remember him for who he was, and help the teenagers of today, move on with them.

CC - Beds Together or Apart?

When we got married, we thought it would solve some of our problems. Now, before your mind tries to figure out what problems, we'll tell you, at least one of them.

For a couple of months before we got married, we'd go to each others house for Shabbos, at which point we would sleep at a next door neighbor, so that people wouldn't get the wrong ideas about us.

Don't get us wrong, we still hung out in each others bedrooms until 3AM Friday nights, but when the time came for sleep, we'd have to go back to wherever we were supposed to be sleeping.

And then came marriage, and it should have solved all our problems. Right? Right. Wrong.

We went away this past Shabbos to a Bar Mitzvah at a hotel in Philadelphia.

Seemed simple enough, we responded "2 people" and figured that the room would have one Queen Size bed, or something similar.

And then I (CG) got a call last week from the mother of  the Adult-To-Be, asking if we had a preference of one bed or would we be needing separate beds, if we had any preference at all?

Now, I am all for woman talking to other woman about their "niddah issues". But I had never thought of that topic before when going away for a weekend...

Well, needless to say, I asked for one Queen Size bed, since it really isn't any of her business...no matter how sincere the gesture might be.

On that note, whilst we do keep niddah (not that any of you should care, buncha perverts), we do always share the same bed, and just control ourselves during the right times.

We aren't animals.

MA - Just to get my two cents in on it...well, I really don't have any on this, except to say: Guys, if you haven't had kugel cooked overnight in chulent, you are missing out.

This is the first time I had seen a caterer do it, and surprisingly, they didn't mess it up by doing it!

The Delusion of Privacy

These days there is a big deal being made on a lot of breaches in security.

From the NSA and Eric Snowden, to Google Glass, to the NYPD storing data, it's becoming an issue to a lot of people.

But I say: WHO ARE YOU KIDDING?!

On a daily basis, you use tools that are provided to you by companies, which can be used in much deeper ways than we can imagine.

Sure, Google Glass is an issue to some, since now you never know when someone may take a picture of you doing stupid.

But remember last week, when you picked your nose on the street corner, thinking no one saw?

Hate to break it to you, but 3 security cameras in store doorways, and one dashboard camera, all saw it, recorded it, and there is nothing you will ever be able to do about that!

Or what about the fact that on Google Maps we can now zoom in so close that we can see people sunbathing in their backyards on satellite view.

And if that is what they are letting us see...imagine what the satellites can really see!

What's that? You also ordered the "Spy Case" that came with cereal boxes as a kid? You know the one I mean, the one with a device to let you pick up sounds across the room.

Well just imagine what spending more than $3.99 on S/H can get you? What if you spent $399 on it? Chances are you can probably hear the sounds of hearts breaking all around the world as Adam Levine announced he was engaged.

Whilst anonymity on these blogs has been a hot topic on this blog and others in the past...just realize that Google knows who you are :) Sure you made a pseudonym to start this account...but you signed into it on the exact same computer that you signed into your real account...and you've done that 629 times before, all within a minute of each other. Odds are, you are the same person.

In this day and age, nothing is private anymore, at least not for long.

Just ask two guys named Spitzer, and appropriately, Wiener.

Too Much Minions?

Is there such a thing as too much of minions? I think not...

CC - The Delights Of Laundry

One of the joys of marriage, is that we now have a shared responsibility of doing laundry. And we usually both chip in.

The first few times though, were extremely weird.

While sure, a few times he had seen my "delicates" (to say the least) (CG), (and she saw my socks! (MA)), it was weird for me to think of him looking through those things.

I mean, until we got married, no one had seen some of my VS stuff before, let alone handled them.

Not gonna lie...a few times in the beginning I would do special loads while he was out working, just so I could keep my hands only on those stuff.

MA - Unfortunately, she has now gotten over that "fear of me handling her delicates", meaning I get to do the laundry more and more frequently. Joy. :)

Either way, couples, just let each other do your laundry from the start. It's bound to happen sooner or later, and no point in wasting extra loads in the beginning. :-P

Open Letter To A Rose

This letter is in bullet points, and no specific order:

Dear You.

- You've been there when I am up. But even more importantly, you have been there when I am down.

- You have given me more than I could ever have asked for, and asked for even less in return.

- I may seem to spend extravagantly on you, but you, and what you stand for, are what keeps me going through life, and let me earn the monies to spend.

- The parents I was once hidden from, are now close "friends".

- We met in the most random of ways, yet forged a strange friendship, that was odd and improbable.

- Made me comfortable to be who I am.

- Random words that probably only make sense to you: Cupcakes. Ice Chests. Agatha Christie. Chocolates. HIMYM Calendars. +.

Thank you for being there when I need you the most.

Sincerely,

WM

100 and Counting!

Wow, I can't believe this is my 100th post (and that I almost wrote episode).

Since the beginning of this blog, I didn't think that was a possibility...of course I didn't think the amount of page views was possible either, but I guess things happen!

Taking a quick peak back over the last 14+ months, I see lots of things that failed early on (anyone remember Tanka Thursdays? or how about a Schedule with specific topics depending on the days...oy.).

I mean, looking at my first "Blog Note", I noticed comments saying that I probably wouldn't last a week, let alone two weeks or even a year+. (Ahem, Altie.)

And then there are the Easter Eggs hidden throughout these pages.

Things like the locations of each post, which has been written about, and how they are either about where the post is talking about, or subtle hints at what I really meant.

Or things listed in the labels, some of them since Day 1, other reminders popping up throughout.

Either way, thanks to the 3 of you that still religiously read this blog, and to the 173 others of you that browse through once in a while!

Anyone think I can't make it to 200?

Mind Your Own Business

People will often ask me: "What are you doing with your life?"

To which I'll reply one of many things, such as: "Classes", "Working", "Partying" or some other nonsensical answer.

But when I say: "Yeah, I take classes from 12:30PM-7:30PM" or "Sure, I work the graveyard shift, from 6PM-6AM", their first question back always surprises me.

When do you daven Mincha? When do you daven Ma'ariv? When do you daven Shachris? When do you make time to learn? Or a host of other questions along the same lines, depending what time slot we are talking about.

How about this: Why don't you learn to mind your own business.

If I choose to daven, that's my issue.

If I choose to do it solo, that's still, my issue.

If I choose not to do it at all...well, I think everyone gets the point by now.

Why does everyone think that my religiousness, is their issue?

I am not talking about family members, who even though it isn't their issue, I could see their reasons for asking.

I am talking about people I haven't seen in a few years, or people I am just meeting for the first time.

While everyone gets curious, and I expect those questions at some point. It's really infuriating when its the first thing that is said to me in conversation.

So as I said before, it's time for people to learn to mind their own business!

The Cautious Couple

We want to start off by thanking Wondering Minds for letting us write on this blog.

Our posts will usually be in both our words, with agreements or disagreements voiced out within it. We don't know how much we will write, although he has said however frequent or non-frequent we'd like, so we'll take him up on that offer.

Our names will be kept to initials, and ones that are hopefully not too distinguishable, so let's start off by introducing ourselves.

Although we won't usually say which one of us is doing the "talking", when we do, we'll sign off our thoughts:

My name is CG, I am 22 years old, and the wife in this unlikely arraignment. I was lucky enough to meet the love of my life about 11 months ago, and couldn't wait to get married to him. We got married in March, and have been figuring it out ever since. <3

Finally, I get to write something...my name is MA, and all that previous stuff, was all CG. I am 25, from the Virginia area, and had looked high and low, before finally finding the right one. Thankfully she has been a blessing to my life, and besides for personality and humour, she is also good looking...or at least I tell her she is :) . I am also clearly a trouble maker...
(Luckily I am the better "proof-reader" between the two of us, so I get to write second, and tidy everything up. I also get to hit "publish" :) hopefully she'll never reread anything after it's up already!)

27 and Counting

Last week Frum Geek wrote an article talking about Online Dating and issues he had with it, and it got me thinking about the flaws in Jewish dating, and marriage as well.

An article in the New York Daily News on Friday stated that the average age of the American woman getting married is 27 years old.

Now clearly, in the Jewish community it is lower than that, or at least everyone thinks it has to be (I can't state for sure that it is, since I obviously don't have numbers on that).

One of my best friends at work is getting married next year. At that time his girlfriend and him will both be 27. Talk about living the American dream, right?

So when he told me that, on Friday too, no coincidences there, it got me thinking as to why, in my mind, marriage was such a pressing issue.

And I have just the answer.

It's because I want kids. I want a lover. I want to be loved. And I want a close knit family.

But the Jewish aspect of being in my low 20s, and not even having dated much, means that in my mind, I am behind the bell curve.

And it is time for me to stop letting it f**k with my mind.

Starting now.

Now let's go make out somewhere quiet.

Blog Note #2

The Wondering Minds are once again expanding!

We would like to welcome to the big picture, The Cautious Couple, newlyweds married in March, who will be contributing and doing featured pieces on this blog.

I'll let them do more about saying who they are! 

Stay tuned...

The Minds Have Returned

With this blog being dormant for a long period, the Minds have determined that it is time to come back.

For at least the next couple of weeks, there will hopefully be a post a day, just like things were back when this blog launched.

Topics that are in the works include marriage issues, privacy and an open letter to someone that's always been there for me.

I hope that those that have been here since Day 1 are still around, and those that are just discovering me, will stick around!

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Minions are awesome.

Need I say more?

Except this:

That video really is bananas.

Light In My Life

Everyone needs a reason to live.
A reason to look forward to life.
Purposes to be happy, and smile.
And things to look forward to.

Sometimes the light grows dim.
And things get harder.
With a struggle, and a lack of desire.
To live and keeps things going.

But then you get that ray of light.
Something there that keeps you going.
A thing to look forward to at the end of the day.
A glow in the dark mines.

Whenever you see it, it makes you smile.
It reminds you why it is all worth it.
What the purpose is.
And feeling all happy inside.

Bundles of joy.
Unconditional love.
Light in the eyes.
Reasons to power on.

<3

Nostalgia

I spent 11 summers at the same place.

From 2000-2010, I went to the same place, with the same people, and did almost the same thing.

And even though the last four years of it was grueling manual labor...I loved it.

For the last three summers I've been telling myself to go visit...but who wants to drive 5+ hours (before traffic kicks in) round trip, just for the sake of visiting?

But this July 4th, I went out and did it.

I went back upstate...and can't believe how much I missed in.

Whilst I only have a few people that I still knew there, and some of them are miserable grouches, it was good to see them all again.

I even helped a little, and did some manual labor, voluntarily, for old times sake. And loved it.

I miss those days...

I wanna go back...