Oh no, I'm so sorry, Steph. Glad for good news about your brother, though.

Sorry for your loss, Steph. But that IS really great your bro is doing so well.

And I hate to feel like a driveby, never shows up except when she needs hugs and hairpats - but need I to get this out (and wouldn't mind hugs and hairpats). So, just got final confirmation that my most recent Crush/Friend has ghosted me. The last time we got together we had a really real conversation that I thought went really well. Apparently, I read it wrong, alas. I really adored this one and we had such a strong start...but it's been sputtering for a while. I thought we might recover, but I guess it's not meant to be. I've been thinking about my final move (to get confirmation) for several days, so I think I'm not as heartbroken as I would have been. But still...sucks. I'm really bummed to lose the friendship. I was prepared to move on from the crush part and continue to enjoy the friend part, but apparently communication was too much to ask.

I'm sorry, Epic. That is really hard. {{Hugs and Hairpats}}

I'm sorry for your loss, Steph. May her memory be a blessing.

I went to Kol Nidre services tonight. They were originally supposed to be held in the community room of a church (which our group was renting), but something went wrong with that, so they were back to being held at the hosts' house. Which is nice, and has a really comfortable sofa, but it's not very accessible -- a bunch of stairs to get into the house, and a whole flight of stairs to get to the bathroom.

Services will be there tomorrow, too. There are morning services, then a break for a couple hours, then afternoon/evening services. The hosts said that anyone who wants to hang out at the house for the couple hours in between is welcome to stay and chat or nap or whatever, and one of them told me specifically that if I wanted the couch during that time (since most of the other napping spaces are upstairs), then it's mine.

I also really like that, as part of the setup for Yom Kippur, they've got a room set aside with some water and snacks. That way, if there are people who can't fast or don't want to fast, they can eat or drink something without having to leave entirely. (That's something that I've run into before -- my blood sugar does not do well with 25 hours of no food or drink, and if I get to the point where I need to eat something, that means that I've got to leave the synagogue and find something to eat somewhere else, so that means that I miss a lot of the praying, and it feels uncomfortable to walk back into synagogue after leaving to eat.)

I really do like this community. I'll be happy when the location stuff gets worked out, and it's held somewhere more accessible, though.

I'm glad to hear that, Hil. I miss having services to go to on holidays.

I'm sorry, Epic. It's hard when something that seemed good ends like that.

Hil, I'm glad you've found a community you're happy in, and hopefully they move to an accessible location soon.

I had a pleasant lunch with a friend, and now I feel depressed, and I'm telling myself there's no reason to be depressed, except there kinda is. I should be looking at that severance package that arrived yesterday but I don't want to.

Hil, sounds like a very promising community. I'm really pleased for you.

Zen, you do have reason to be depressed. Any change is hard, and layoffs are a real blow. But I'm glad you're reaching out and getting out (if you're anything like me, a very real struggle during depression). You should look at the severance package soon, but it doesn't have to be right this minute. Take care of you. Wish you were closer for hugs. {{{Zen}}}

Steph, Epic, and Zen - I am sorry. Hoping for positive news for all of you.

Hil, the community sounds amazing. I've never heard of a community that offers snacks and water during Yom Kippur (but I live in Jerusalem, so that doesn't say much). That's very thoughtful.