{{{Sean}}}

It's a football weekend here. There are way more people around that usual. I've never been in a place where a sports game could bring in enough people that the roads and stores could look this noticeably different before.

I wanted to light Shabbat candles. I have candlesticks (graduation gift from my aunt, because my old ones broke in the move) and I have candles. I have no matches or anything else I can use to light them.

Hil, football games screw up traffic 80 miles south in my parents' neck of the woods. I remember times when the trip from their house to the restaurant took twice as long, only because of a football game.

The restaurant also sees a significant uptick in business football weekends. It's right off of one of the two main roads that lead to your university.

I'm assuming you don't have a gas stove, Hil?

I'm assuming you don't have a gas stove, Hil?

Nope. Electric. I used to have one of those clicky candle-lighting things, but I think I left it in DC because I couldn't figure out how to pack it safely. I'll get a new one next time I'm at a store and I remember.

Hil, football games screw up traffic 80 miles south in my parents' neck of the woods. I remember times when the trip from their house to the restaurant took twice as long, only because of a football game.

Wow. I guess I should allow a bit more travel time for my errands tomorrow. (Not doing much -- synagogue, furniture store, and somewhere that I can buy some hangers. And none of those are really time-sensitive -- I honestly can't remember ever getting to Saturday morning services on time except for during the year before my bat mitzvah when I had to learn how to lead all the prayers.)

You can light a piece of spaghetti or a twist of paper by holding it against an electric burner. It's not enormously safe, at least, it doesn't feel enormously safe when I do it, but it can be done.

I guess I should allow a bit more travel time for my errands tomorrow.

Um, that would be wise. Even wiser would be putting them off until Sunday (edit: Well, except for synagogue. I know that's not flexible.). Football is the true religion up there. Any major artery into the university town from the surrounding environs is going to be clogged up from tonight to at least Sunday morning.

Um, that would be wise. Even wiser would be putting them off until Sunday.

Well, synagogue really can't be put off, and the furniture store is on the road on the way back home from there. If the traffic is ridiculous, then the hangers can wait until some other time.

LOL. I just edited my post, Hil. I realized that one of those things was not like the others.

Do they still play football when it's raining? There's definitely a storm coming in.

(The last time I was at a football game was when I was a junior football cheerleader in fourth grade. And I had no interest in what was going on on the field -- I just liked the dance and gymnastics parts of it, and that I always got to be on top of the pyramids.)

Do they still play football when it's raining?

Yep. Snow too. The only thing that would make them call or postpone the game is lightning or other dangerous weather phenomena.

ION, someone please tell me to stop wallowing. I'm just feeling sorry for myself, and there are lots of other people who have it worse than me.

Stop wallowing. At least you are not as desperate for work as Scott Baio and Peter Wingfield were when they agreed to do Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 ... the expressions on Peter's face... gamely hamming it up for the camera.... heartbreaking.