Duncan's Blog

The masculine noun ערב ('erev), meaning sunset or evening, the time of day at which the sun has crossed the whole of the sky (Genesis 8:11, Deuteronomy 16:6, Job 7:4).
You don't need to know this and chances are you will never use this (unless you are Jewish). I think about the many aspects of my culture that don't really pertain to any of my day-to-day existence. One of the complex aspects of observing special dates is the fact that the Hebrew calendar differs from Gregorian one. According to Wiki, "The Hebrew or Jewish calendar (הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, ha'luach ha'ivri) is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances."
In addition, "The Jewish day is of no fixed length. The Jewish day is modeled on the reference to '...there was evening and there was morning...' "
I'm writing this entry at 2300 on January 17th. In my Hebrew world, this would already be the next day since the day changes at sunset rather than at the fixed hour of 0000 (or 12:00 midnight).
I lived during an era when Martin Luther King was alive. I grew up in the north (Yankee country) and when I went to public grade school in the 1960s, integration of the races in education was a hot button topic. It was the African Americans (i.e., negroes, blacks) who were bussed to the white schools. I couldn't imagine what it must be like to have to leave your neighborhood and be part of a classroom where you were stared at for being so different.
I'm no stranger to being judged. That happened within my family and from the outside. Some people are better insulated from the mean spiritedness that exists as part of the human condition. I, alas, was not one such lucky person.
The dream of Martin Luther King is still a valid one. We are fighting over everything. It's constant. So often I see at my integrated workplace the disharmony among racial lines. How do you tell someone, "I'm not angry at you because of the color of your skin, I'm angry at you because you treat me like a piece of trash!" I'm not into raising consciousness and doubt that I will be doing it any time soon.

Is there really a difference between "Entry Title" and "Subject" ? I looked at the opening here and that came to mind. These days are just filled with streams (nay rivers!) of consciousness. There's the battle between Obama and Hillary Clinton over who will be the next democratic nominee. War continues in Iraq and Afghanistan although the president assures us that it is victoriously over. Our Yankee dollalr is worthless outside the borders (ha! even at home). Foreclosures are all around us and I have no idea at times how I am going to make my own ends meet.
Sometimes it causes great embarrassment when I am looking at my personal home budget and fret that I can't seem to make my $2200/month take home pay stretch to meet the needs. This is particularly distressing knowing that there are many around me whose take home is just a fraction of that.
Still and all I remain thankful and hopeful of what I have in my life and lot. There's good health, trusted/trusting friends, a roof over my head, a car that fires up in the morning. I've got plants and trees and chickens in the yard. I live with others who are kind to me.
In short... few complaints.

It's been challenging keeping up with all of the emails and instant messages hurling my way to find out how I am, what I'm up to and what's going on.
For starters, I will be celebrating my one year anniversary of being an employed nurse in April. One of the other major career highlights is my transfer to a venue closer to home. In this day and age of skyrocketing gasoline prices it is a pleasure and a treat to be able to use public transportation.
The local university has still put me on hold with regards to whether or not I will be accepted into its nursing program. Life is a wait-and-see process with their bureaucracy and I am anxious about hearing from them.
Thanks for reading my entries.

I'm sure we've all said, "If I had to recall the story of my life, it would be an interesting book to read." Problem sometimes with my own recall is the fact that I seldom look at my personal evolution in a one directional ray that goes from early time to present time to later time (i.e. past - present - future).
How's that ? Well, sometimes I'm plagued by the past experiences that creep in and rear up their ugly heads when I least expect it. I plod and ford through daily events that often leave a bitter taste in my mouth. "L*rd, please help me endure another day of listening to this cretin without my going ballistic!" And then there's the every day paralysis over contemplating the future. "Where will I be if I fall sick? Will I have enough money in the bank? What if they were aiming for the President and I got shot in the crossfire of some very bad karma?"
My life doesn't even flow in simple paragraphs. While talking about the elections there can be a break to look up a recipe for salmon croquettes or an unquenchable desire to know what the ingredients are in my nasal saline spray.
This, mind you, is from a person who takes a single Multi-Vit a day, hears no voices and has few to no obsessions.

Hello (name goes here). Welcome!
It's approaching the end of 2007 and I'm pleased that I have had some sort of journal in my life. For years I had kept a more literary journal that was written. Now I have access to just typing away and putting my life LITERALLY on (the) line.
Sometimes this is a bit scary because, as they say, you never know who [sic] you're going to meet. One of my horror meets from here (my very first and only on so far) was a guy who was later picked up for making and selling kiddie porn. Sweet, huh?
I'm looking forward to a prosperous and healthy new year. To any and all who are reading my journal, I encourage you to let me know what you like to read, what your interests are and--if you're so inclined--to send me feedback as to what it is that attracts your attention.
Namaste.