A World Without Facebook

It's been a week since I quit the T-Rex of social media that what's-his-name founded aka Facebook. I can't say I've missed it; on the contrary, I've had a lot more time for taking care of daily chores and working on my day job.

Facebook doesn't need me--and I don't need Facebook to survive in this crazy, senseless world full to the brink with all types of "interesting" phenomena to go around the block and then some, etc, etc to a million degrees.

I need me some peace of mind, and gosh darn it, I'm gonna get it! Living in Israel, about 15 min's ride from the "Occupied Territories" (boy, would I love it if the our cousins in "Palestine"--wherever that happens to be--quit occupying our land), this might just be a difficult proposition, but I'm gonna see to it that I get this one task done!

Facebook or no Facebook, it's still vital to focus on the goals ahead: get elected to the post of Prime Minister, followed by a destructive take-over of the world...or maybe just stay on as the product description manager at this here place smack in the middle of nowhere. Whichever the case may be, I'm about to get it done and it doesn't involve Facebook.

So there, let's raise a shot of L'chaim to a world free of social media and the Internet--oh wait, I'm using it right now. Gotta go, sorry folks, I need to save the world!

Avraham: the 1st Zionist

This week's parsha, Lech Lecha, describes the life and trevails of our forefather Avraham, how he was commanded by G-d to leave his "land, (his) home, and (his) father's house," and travel to a distant, unknown land, a land "flowing with milk and honey."

Avraham leaves Charan at the old age of 75. By then, he's already established himself as a leader and a visionary. He goes on to live a life of righteousness, of arrousing curiosity for the Jewish faith amongst the people of the world, and of settling the Land of Canaan.

Avraham was for all intents and purposes, the first Zionist. The first settlers in Palestine who came here with the dream of building a "perfect" society based on socialist ideals were following in Avraham's footsteps. Perhaps, they were misguided in thinking that the new state would be based on socialism, but they weren't far from the truth.

Why is it that it took a secular movement--as opposed to the Charedi community of Eastern Europe to realize that the Jewish people's future lay in Israel and that the correct--and only thing to do was to pack up their bags and travel to a land deserted by its inhabitants; a land that lay desolate and barren?

On My Stay in Chicago and On Coming Home to Israel

My stay here, in Chicago, was an eventful one. Lots of things happened: some positive and some negative, but overall, I enjoyed my stay here. The worst thing to happen was my grandma's passing. My mom is still having a very difficult time adjusting to the new reality of not having her mother by her side. She (grandma) was sick for a very long time, but we all got used to her being there for us whether she was sick or not. It was definitely a very difficult experience.

The best thing that took place while I was here was having an opportunity to see all my friends, especially an old buddy of mine whom we reconnected with after a 3-year hiatus. We spent several days hanging out in a variety of cafes around Chicago and Skokie, doing some studying (I loaned a few books from the library), watching movies, and playing b-ball and tennis. I ran a bit, but not as much as I was running in Israel and definitely not as much as I hoped to run while here.


As a side-note, I'm probably going to move back to blogger unless something drastic happens, and I figure out how to use Wordpress. Honestly speaking, it's been a big hastle for me. I'm pondering watching the presidential debates tonight, but the NY-Detroid game sounds awfully enticing as well. What a decision: presidential debates vs. ALCS!

Job-wise, I'm hoping to start covering Israeli current events and daily life in Israel for "Reklama," a local Russian language newspaper. I'll be placing my articles here as well. I'm also looking into writing for the JPost blog. We'll see how that goes.

I feel a little guilty that I ended up not voting in the American elections. I'm a big Romney fan and hope he gets elected, but I just wasn't able to print up all the documents for the absantee ballot. It was harder than I expected, and I ended up passing on the whole thing altogether. Hopefully, Illinois will eventually become more balanced and my vote will make a difference in future elections.