IF07: Day 1
Only 24 hours ago, I arrived home—at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, where I've decided (and arranged, with compensation) to spend 2007. In part as a sabbatical for myself to enhance my career, develop my spiritual practice, and improve the way I interact with others; in part for the benefit of every individual on this property who will appreciate my assistance—this is going to be quite a year, to say the least.
Today, I spent much of the day shoveling snow. About a foot of snow fell here in the last couple days and there were still a few walkways to be cleared. I began with the steps and ramp in front of the old yurt (there's a new one now, with a fancy new heating system that's hugely more effective than the old one). Later, I removed ice from the doorways of Brown House and Hillside, allowing each door to close properly and not waste so much heat. This afternoon, I shoveled the walkway down to Hillside, appeasing Tamuz, who lives down there (apartment under Adam's house).
The worst part of the shoveling was when, five minutes into it this morning, my fingertips were freezing and numb. The best part was how 15 minutes later, the blood was flowing and my fingers had gotten used to the cold and were feeling happy again.
I also took the initiative to visit Rose and retrieve (and fill out and return) the forms I needed to file so I can get paid. I'm also signing onto Freedman's health plan. Though it's a poorer plan than I have now, it'll save me $40 a month; I'll be paying 60% of the premium, or about $100. CareFirst has no problem putting my account on hold when I don't need it for a time and allowing me to pick up where I left off when I'm ready.
The trip up yesterday was exciting enough given the challenge of leaving when D.C. was facing so much snow and ice on the roads. But apparently we picked a perfect window—after most roads had been plowed and sanded but before the cold returned and froze the melting back in place. Mom dropped me off about 2 pm in Columbia, where I met Judy, one of this weekend's retreaters (Davvenen Leadership Training Institute). With a couple brief stops, we made great time and suffered little on the roads in between. We made it in under eight hours. Up here, the weather was not nearly as bad as forecast, and the town plows had apparently come through less than two hours before we arrived, so we really timed ourselves well.
Being back among my friends has been so wonderful. They appreciate my presence as much as I theirs. Annie and I watched House together tonight, Naf loves that we think alike (common sense, mostly) and foresees that I will become an even greater resource to the community, and everyone else is simply thrilled that Super Ben is back! Naf has also predicted that I will be the source of some crazy projects that will rival Clarkson's engineering genius in a different context. He also envisions a time when Shamu will be sending Adamah-niks to "go see Super Ben," imaginably for solutions to there process challenges and the like.
Well, I look forward to all of it. Tonight I closed up the pasture since Aitan left for the weekend and Ben had to make a train station run. And tomorrow morning, Naf will show the watering story in the greenhouse, which I will be taking care of while he's in New York this weekend. Really, the only person I haven't seen yet is Adam, who as I commented earlier to Ben is doing "who know's what … not here." I suppose he's working in the New York office this week. I wonder if he'll be back for Shabbat. We'll see.
Tomorrow, I plan to voluntarily do more shoveling. I want to make a path to the side door of Brown House closest to my room, and also somewhere else I mentioned this evening. I'll have to ask Jenna if she remembers where I was planning.
Also, when I arrived last night I started the new arrangement of my room, beginning by putting my bed in the nook between the closets and the windows. There's just enough room to leave between bed and window for the heating vent to peak through and keep the room warm. Also moved a dresser but haven't filled it with clothes and stuff yet. Might do that tonight. It's a work in progress at the moment and I'm happy to have a spatial challenge in the background, though I think I want to bring it to some completion before Shabbat. So, probably sometime in the next 18 hours, I'll have moved another dresser, bed, and bookshelf to create a couch space and more organization. Also have to move some bed framing downstairs so I can use my closets.
As I told Mom in the car yesterday, if I don't start journaling at the beginning, I'm more likely to continue doing so, lest I miss anything. So, desirably, this entry is proving my commitment to not having spent the last 45 minutes watching an episode of TV (I have several to catch up), and I'll continue these nightly entries as much as I can, so I keep all of us up to date and, as I said, so I don't miss any (un)important details. Because you know how much I love details.
Sweet dreams.
Today, I spent much of the day shoveling snow. About a foot of snow fell here in the last couple days and there were still a few walkways to be cleared. I began with the steps and ramp in front of the old yurt (there's a new one now, with a fancy new heating system that's hugely more effective than the old one). Later, I removed ice from the doorways of Brown House and Hillside, allowing each door to close properly and not waste so much heat. This afternoon, I shoveled the walkway down to Hillside, appeasing Tamuz, who lives down there (apartment under Adam's house).
The worst part of the shoveling was when, five minutes into it this morning, my fingertips were freezing and numb. The best part was how 15 minutes later, the blood was flowing and my fingers had gotten used to the cold and were feeling happy again.
I also took the initiative to visit Rose and retrieve (and fill out and return) the forms I needed to file so I can get paid. I'm also signing onto Freedman's health plan. Though it's a poorer plan than I have now, it'll save me $40 a month; I'll be paying 60% of the premium, or about $100. CareFirst has no problem putting my account on hold when I don't need it for a time and allowing me to pick up where I left off when I'm ready.
The trip up yesterday was exciting enough given the challenge of leaving when D.C. was facing so much snow and ice on the roads. But apparently we picked a perfect window—after most roads had been plowed and sanded but before the cold returned and froze the melting back in place. Mom dropped me off about 2 pm in Columbia, where I met Judy, one of this weekend's retreaters (Davvenen Leadership Training Institute). With a couple brief stops, we made great time and suffered little on the roads in between. We made it in under eight hours. Up here, the weather was not nearly as bad as forecast, and the town plows had apparently come through less than two hours before we arrived, so we really timed ourselves well.
Being back among my friends has been so wonderful. They appreciate my presence as much as I theirs. Annie and I watched House together tonight, Naf loves that we think alike (common sense, mostly) and foresees that I will become an even greater resource to the community, and everyone else is simply thrilled that Super Ben is back! Naf has also predicted that I will be the source of some crazy projects that will rival Clarkson's engineering genius in a different context. He also envisions a time when Shamu will be sending Adamah-niks to "go see Super Ben," imaginably for solutions to there process challenges and the like.
Well, I look forward to all of it. Tonight I closed up the pasture since Aitan left for the weekend and Ben had to make a train station run. And tomorrow morning, Naf will show the watering story in the greenhouse, which I will be taking care of while he's in New York this weekend. Really, the only person I haven't seen yet is Adam, who as I commented earlier to Ben is doing "who know's what … not here." I suppose he's working in the New York office this week. I wonder if he'll be back for Shabbat. We'll see.
Tomorrow, I plan to voluntarily do more shoveling. I want to make a path to the side door of Brown House closest to my room, and also somewhere else I mentioned this evening. I'll have to ask Jenna if she remembers where I was planning.
Also, when I arrived last night I started the new arrangement of my room, beginning by putting my bed in the nook between the closets and the windows. There's just enough room to leave between bed and window for the heating vent to peak through and keep the room warm. Also moved a dresser but haven't filled it with clothes and stuff yet. Might do that tonight. It's a work in progress at the moment and I'm happy to have a spatial challenge in the background, though I think I want to bring it to some completion before Shabbat. So, probably sometime in the next 18 hours, I'll have moved another dresser, bed, and bookshelf to create a couch space and more organization. Also have to move some bed framing downstairs so I can use my closets.
As I told Mom in the car yesterday, if I don't start journaling at the beginning, I'm more likely to continue doing so, lest I miss anything. So, desirably, this entry is proving my commitment to not having spent the last 45 minutes watching an episode of TV (I have several to catch up), and I'll continue these nightly entries as much as I can, so I keep all of us up to date and, as I said, so I don't miss any (un)important details. Because you know how much I love details.
Sweet dreams.
posted by Ben @ 10:50 PM
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