LEGENDARY!

Steph, I think you need to join us, in order to make sure it really is.

---

Yes, thanks. It's all over - it's just the one day (two, for those who live abroad and double up all the holidays). But it's the end of a period of 50 days, being counted since Passoer ("the counting of the Omer"), so it's anticipated for long, and it feels like something much longer was over.

I know how it is timed with the 50 days, because of Pentacost, but I think sometimes it is referred to as the "Feast of Weeks" (I know in English translation Bibles it's often referred to as the Feast of Tabernacles, and maybe First Fruits, too), and the 'weeks' always confuses me.

And, I think I've mentioned it, but I have to write it again, for the will-convert-for-food that you are - it's customary to have dairy foods on this holiday. So there was not only cheese cake, but also ice-cream for dessert!

Mmmmm. Cheese cake. I think I read some of your discussion on it, because I have a faint memory of you describing the timing between the meals and any meals containing meat (unless someone else was talking about it elsewhere).

---

Thanks Nilly!

---

I'm back at work.

The actual procedure was literally painless - the Doc put a bunch of pain-killing eyedrops in first, followed by a pain-killing injection, then followed by the real (or maybe the sham) injection. (I couldn't even see the needle - just felt some pressure.) So even if I didn't get the actual treatment, I still had stuff injected into my eye. Now that the painkiller stuff has worn off, my eye hurts. It also looks gross as fuck (swollen and bloody) so I wore a bandage to avoid frightening the children.

---

Turning 30 was a good thing in my mind. Last month I turned 35 which was much more difficult. Age though it mostly an artificial construct. I have people in my office who are the same age (53) and one seems in her 30s while the other seems early 60s.

My mantra for this year is "35 and funky!"

---

I've never been that into birthdays (mine, I mean.) There tends to be more celebrating of recent ones, though, because my sister is kind of a force of nature where that kind of thing is concerned.

just not feeling that I should be this person I'm really not, I'm feeling much more relaxed.

This is so key - not what specific things you are or aren't into, but not feeling anymore like you're failing to live up to some nebulous standard. Some people hit that point earlier on, but I think for a lot of us it was something that came to us late 20s/early 30s, and has made all the difference.

---

Had nightmare that managed to be both terrifying and boring. There was a file I had to retrief. Horrible consquences if I fail to pull it up. I new the name, but not the extension or directory, and was using unfamiliar software in an unfamilar OS where I coould not figure out how to navigate the directory tree or perform a search. I get trying, somehow knowing that every unsuccessful attempt risked deleting the file. Maybe I've been spending too much time at the keyboard?

---

Pentacost

What's that?

(Yeah, I could Google, but the hivemind is snarkier and knows my name, so I prefer to ask here.)

sometimes it is referred to as the "Feast of Weeks" (I know in English translation Bibles it's often referred to as the Feast of Tabernacles, and maybe First Fruits, too), and the 'weeks' always confuses me.

The meaning of "Shavuot" is "weeks" ("shavua" = "week"), so yeah, that's the meaning of the name of the holiday. You count 7 weeks from Passover, and at their end is this holiday, so it's named after the weeks that you count.

When the temple in Jerusalem still existed, the first fruit of the year were brought to it (as an offering to G-d, in thanks for the crops), on that holiday. So it was also called after that, the holiday of the "bikoorim" (="first fruit").

A third name for the holiday is "the holiday of the giving of the Torah", because traditionally that was the date that the ten commandments were given to the people of Israel. That's why it's so connected to Passover and the days between them are counted - to show that the final meaning of the freedom and independence that were given on Passover is the Torah, given 7 weeks later.

I'm not sure about "Tabernacles", though - isn't that Sukkot?

unless someone else was talking about it elsewhere

I have no idea about anybody else, but IIRC, I talked about it. Jesse's parents could be honorary Jews, or something to that effect, based on the time they waited between a meal and their ice-cream.

[Edited because expecially when talking about the hivemind, grammar should be as correct as possible.]

---

Dessert first!

I remembered that part.

---

tommy, so glad you didn't feel anything during the procedure. Espcially since I saw no SEDATIVES in your outline of the day. What happened to the wonderful Valium?? Sorry you're all hurty now. Do you have some painkillers?

(Boy, I sound like a major drug pusher here. But, but, needles. In EYES. I don't have a needle squick, but in EYES.)

---