And you know, girl was busy training for the Olympics. I will say I find her extremely charming and adorable.

Yep. Some of the guards/instructors argue/tease over their hair. One has a short afro she sometimes does in twists or a really charming snood, another wears it much like Gabby (though if she's straight from a meet, she also often does a snood) and the other braids in various configs. All are competitive swimmers, and they debate whose hair is easiest to cope with having a life in the water. Near as I can tell, they always reach a draw. Braids feel poky in a cap, the 'fro doesn't like to compress and then doesn't uncompress easily, staightened frizzes out, but easy to pull back in desperation... They all agree that the other guard, a mixed-race woman with just naturally wavy hair, has the easiest hair. But she's got hair that you could put in a windtunnel full of pinesap and it would still turn out ok. She's uncommonly gifted with hair not affected by a swimming life.

I'm not ashamed to say that I love my garbage disposal. And, knock wood, it's never caused me any issues in 4 years.

But it's got a kind of social and emotional relevance among Jews that I haven't seen in many other communities

Are Jews in the US that different from British Jews? Because they just had straight hair at my mostly Jewish school. Same with the Jewish friends I made in Canada. The white people I know who had been down that stressful hair-straightening path were all non-Jews.

So seeing it treated like a pan-Jewish issue? Eye opening. Do you have the concomitant good hair issues where you're judged as militant if you wear your hair as is? Or you're a traitor if you do alter it? Like us?

One of the first things I had put in (by Juliana's DH) was a garbage disposal. I rarely use it, since I compost what I can, but I'm still glad it's there.

Lived without a garbage disposal in NYC; going without was an LA apartment deal breaker. And I vermicompost.

What's your composting setup in an apartment, bon? And why is it vital here and not in NY?

It used to be illegal in NYC. I have a worm bin in the coat closet!

We have once a week trash pick up and, although I sometimes will put it out if it gets real stinky, you're not supposed to put it out until the night before pick up. So, I love having a way to get rid of bio trash. I like the idea of composting but I don't really understand how I would use it. I don't really have a yard to speak of.

I have a worm bin in the coat closet!

And then what? What are you feeding with your output?

Given how it smelled up on the deck when the ivy was naturally mulching, I don't dare explore composting (and I know it is not supposed to smell. My whackadoodle postage stamp back yard is also not supposed to self-mulch. I know my limits.) I usually don't have more than a grocery bag of non-recyclable trash (same sitch as lisah) not counting litter. I can usually make it a week, but sometimes have to double bag grocery trash and sequester it in the basement in the summer.