Things I like about mahjong

I left work yesterday with a coworker of mine. As we (awkwardly?) walked to the subway together (no it wasn't really awkward...except for when I tried to chase him off the subway...and he was like 'UM...you need to go one more stop to get to Times Square' and I was like 'haha! Well, obviously I'm following you!' and then the lady was like 'DOORS CLOSING'. OOF.)

I asked him about his evenings plan. He said, I think (I have a problem with listening...), that he didn't have any. Or maybe something about a concert or a food-tasting event? Or walking his dog? cat? ferret? (that's a rodent-like animal, Michelle...not a bird.) He asked me about mine and I said, with a twinkle in my eye, 'Oh, well, my friend is coming into town and then I'm hosting mahjong at my apartment'.


He seemed surprised. 'You play mahjong?,' he asked.

'Yup'.

'Do you do that ironically or something?'

'I assure you," I said, "that nothing I do is ironic [because I don't know what that means, exactly, despite having multiple conversations on the subject][these brackets represent words that aren't said in a conversation, but are implied, right?]

As I continued on my journey, I thought about how happy I was and how excited I was to be heading to collect Michelle, my alien friend ( don't worry - she gets it all the time), and to be playing mahjong (background: last summer at Jason's birthday party, Debbie and Michelle and Bri started talking about how their moms used to play mahjong all the time. It came to light that Bri and Michelle were in possession of mahjong sets. A few beers later and the three of them decided to set up a mahjong group. A beer later I had invited myself along because a) I like organized activities and b) I like games and c) I like planning things in advance and d) I was drunk).

Things I like about mahjong
1) Funny name. Mahjong. Mahjong. Mahjong. Keep saying it. That'll occupy you on a rainy afternoon.

2) Tiles. The feel of the tiles against your palm / fingers ( depending on how you hold them I guess?) is really nice. They're so square and substantial. They have pretty pictures on them. They make a clacking noise when they land against the table. You know? anyone? hi? h? ?

3) Snacks! Well...I guess snacks aren't an official part of mahjong, but in our group, they might as well be. From cheese plates, to pretzels, to homemade desserts and veggie platters...we take our snacks very seriously. It's nice sharing cheese with others because about the aftermath of buying a block of cheese and eating it all by myself. Sharing cheese with friends is better. Wait...am I still talking about mahjong?

4) I forgot to mention that we also have wine!

5) The game! Well, the game is pretty fun, and something that I like about mahjong. This might seem fairly obvious but, you never know. The game is strategic and involves passing tiles (see above) and using patterns and mixing tiles (also, see above)...it's kind of complicated, but the rush of a win! WOO! FORGEDDABOUTIT

6) The irony? No. I already told you that I don't know what that means!

7) My Jewish / Asian roots. Playing mahjong helps me to connect to my nanas of yore and allows me to prolong the lie that instead of being a 25-year-old SWF, I'm actually a 10 year old girl living in Shanghai. I like that.

A loss in the family

There's one main reason that I haven't blogged lately. But before we go into it, let's go back. Waaaaaaaaaaaay back.

I went to a magnet elementary school (yes, this is going to connect to the title of this blog post somehow). From my experience I can gather that a magnet school, elementary or otherwise, is a public school option, requiring a lottery selection to be able to enroll, and resulting in special classes like 'problem solving'

(where we did exercises like this:

FIG. A (what was handed out)


FIG B. (what I'd hand back)


)
and 'drama' and 'dance' alongside other, more standard classes like 'math' and 'reading' and 'gym'. At my magnet school (which was called Westover, in case you're curious, and had a mascot of a...Crocodile? or something? Alligator?...even though we were all too busy dancing around to play sports seriously/have a team) we focused on individual learning styles (um...mine was 'abstract random'...telling, isn't it?) and let's not forget the 'thinking talents'.

Kate, Josh, anyone else from Westover, if you read this, tell me if I got this right. So, we did these things in elementary school, I think to introduce and then conclude units, called 'thinking talents'. When we were younger (relatively, of course, since 5th grade seems 'old' in elementary school but is still young in the grand scheme of, I don't know, life?!) we'd sit on the colorful carpet and come up with 'many, varied and unusual words to describe the sun' or 'the rain forest' or 'poems' or things like that. The list, at the beginning of the unit, would usually be short, because, I mean, we hadn't learned about it yet! But, by the end of the week or two of rain forest themed learning, when we would revisit 'the thinking talent' list we'd generated, we'd have so much more to say! So, we would sit, in a group, and do it again.

Now, the reason I bring this up is because we're going to do a short thinking talent here. List many, varied and unusual reasons why I haven't been able to blog.

GO!

If you've talked to me recently, you might know of a certain SOMEONE, who has really been bugging me, who I see regularly...not when I'm out for fun or at my apartment...think about it...think about it...

Well, this person, should be at the top of your thinking talent lists because they're the reason I haven't blogged. I just...haven't had TIME! And the time I have had I've needed to just sit and be sloth-like so I can recharge the 'ol batterinos. Life is tough for me. Whine Whine. Wine? Yes, please!

Now, the real subject of this blog, has to do with a recent loss that I...didn't really 'suffer'...but...went through.

You might recall that the day after my 25th birthday party (NICKELODEON THEME - WHAT'S UP?!), I got my ears pierced. I got a third hole in my ear lobe, because, I WAS FEELING SO RECKLESS AND Cr@zY but also because my first and second holes were very close together which made it really hard (tear) for me to wear two sets of earrings at the same time, which, DUH, is the reason you get more than one hole!

Kate took me to Claire's, because even though I had celebrated my 25th birthday the night before, I was turning 16. The lady? girl? woman? (you know I have a hard time with that) was friendly and funny. We chatted as she dotted my ear for the prospective earring hole. I inspected her work in the mirror and agreed to the location of the piercing. I was wiped down with antiseptic (and pudding. too soon?), bam!, bam! and then done.

I was really happy with the piercings. They were in the PERFECT location and I mused about all the possibilities in life. I can do anything I set my mind to! I can be a lawyer! I can adopt kids from one of the Dakotas and raise them like they're my own! I can wear danglies, and studs, and studs, and STUD (I have one cartilage piercing) ALL AT ONCE! AH! EEP! EEK!

But then, I could tell, something was off. The scar tissue never quite went away from the piercing. And my ears were constantly getting funky (not in a good way if you know what I'm sayin'). I continued to clean them long after the 6 week acclamation period...hoping that if there was dirt or some type of infection inside I'd be able to take care of it.

But it didn't work. And so on Monday, I took the piercings out. By Monday night, they were closed up.

(Any move with Randy Quaid has to be good, right?)

So, now, I want to ask you to join me in a moment of silence for my long-lost, but not forgotten, third piercings. They were born with potential and hope. But, they got lost along the way and now we have to say 'goodbye'. I wasn't prepared for this. I don't know if I'll ever completely move on (but then again, what parent does?). But, I had to do what was right. I had to shut the door, close the holes (holes is kind of a gross word, isn't it?), and now I have to sink in my heels to deal with this loss.

I'll pierce again, but it will never be the same. A part of me is lost. Actually...that's not true. I did gain this weird bump on my ears where each of the piercings were...uh...why did I choose to include that and why am I not deleting it now?

BYE!

[insert thoughtful moment of silence here]

I won't let it be a month since my last post!

OH GOSH. I might have actually been too busy to write a blog entry this time...as opposed to just too lazy or preoccupied to write one.

WOOF - is that your girlfriend?

So, things have been, you know, going on.

I went to Bamboozle a few weekends ago. Didn't run into Ryan Gosling, but did have a bit of an existential crisis about how I'm too old to like the music that I like and how I need to find new music but where and what and who am I and what does it all mean?!

Mother's Day came and went. I did a family brunch/lunch in Astoria to celebrate. Wine cocktails are a new thing for me - nomz.

Caitlin was in town last weekend visiting from Espana. She brought me a Spanish love-witch figurine dealie that was blessed by a lady in her town. I'll report back on any changes that result in my day-to-day life as a result of the figurine dealie.

And now, here I am. My boss is going out of town soon (YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) so will have more time to write then.

xoxo