anyone at your university talking like a pirate?

Nope. But it doesn't ring as well in Hebrew as it does in English, seeing as we pronounce the "r"s so differently.

Also, best wishes for your mom, and you, as well.

Local chabad is a mile away from the symposium site, and our people are welcome to attend services. Hotel provides wrapped kosher meals for the observant, and either milk or meat faux kosher for the sort of kind of observant.

That reads perfect. The one thing you'll have to remember to work around is scheduling their lectures and talks, if they give any. But other than that, it may turn out to be a very interesting and even unique experience, spending this holiday in a different place than your "regular" community. And of all the Jewish holidays, this one involves family in smallest amount, so people may be OK in spending it away from their loved ones (unlike, say, Rosh Hashana or Sukkot, or definitely Pessakh).

paperdol, you're good. *I* may consider attending a conference which provides all that (and I'm terrible at fasting).

[Edited because verbs.]

How many of you get flu shots?

Diabetes and asthma, I get one every year. It's a freebie.

Nilly, thank you for your lovely post. As others have said, you're an inspiration, and no, I've never been offended by anything you've said or done.

Happy Birthday, Lori, and Happy Anniversary to Plei & DH!

Congratulations, Hecubus!

I took today off because I have NO WORK to do and my boss is out of town and I have some writing and stuff to do around the house. Also, painters are here. I feel a little bit guilty about it, but see above, re: no work. It's pretty frustrating, especially when my coworkers are all pretty busy.

I don't get flu shots, mainly because flus that I've had have only been slightly worse than bad colds, and the fever and tiredness give me an excuse to stay home a few days and catch up on my sleep. Also, I dislike going to the doctor for anything that doesn't involve agonizing pain and will get better on its own in short order.

Also, best wishes for your mom, and you, as well.

Thanks Nilly, and everyone.

ION, I imagine that thousands of years from now, a lot of people will probably be a little unclear on what for them will be ancient history. So what if a person a thousand years from now decides to do a random search of blogs, posting boards, etc on this day in the year 2007? They might conclude that the days of sailing ships and piracy on the high seas coincided with the internet.

I think I have had 3 or 4 flu shots. I tend to do poorly fighting things off. I think I was bed ridden for 4 days and pretty miserable for another week with what I think was the flu a couple of years ago (year without a shot).

I usually get a flu shot because my employer offers them for free, and for the past several years I've had a parent or parents not in the best of health that I'm visiting for the holidays. I figure getting the shot reduces the odds I'm going to show up in Alabama at Christmas bearing exotic flu, courtesy of my big city, county hospital workplace, for my mom who's down to one lung and is recovering from chemo. Also, since I have to miss my share of work when Annabel is sick or when daycare is closed for whatever reason, anything that might keep me from using sick leave for personal use is a good thing.

Nilly, you have never offended me, and I hope your Yom Kippur is a wonderful one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LORI!!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, PLEI & DH!!!

Arrrrr. I be wearin' a stylish orange vest, in preparrrrrration for our fire drill.

Yes, but is it rrrrreflective orrrragh-nge?

Last year I got the shot and got the flu within a couple weeks. I think it was a coincidence, though, that the shot didn't have time to work on me.