2015 December 4

Elmhurst/Jackson Heights photos of man in front of Makka Fashion Center মক্কা ট্রাভেল এন্ড টু্যরস; newly revealed Bruson Building without wooden fence.

{Attempting to clear up another major clerical error at the urologist’s office.}

Photos of sign on urologist’s office door (“Please knock door”); cute shopping couple in front of First Taste 一品味餅屋, 75‒08 Broadway; colorful New York Marts garage; other cute shopping couple in Duane Reade.

Corey delicately touched my back to get my attention on 37th Avenue Friday afternoon. We entered the supermarket together and I bought nothing but a rôtisserie chicken, some of which was still in my refrigerator Sunday. | Chat with Corey on the way to and in the supermarket.

I listened to two men on the E having a conversation in which they repeatedly switched from English to Persian and back. Photos on the E.

City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism Pre‐Chanukah Celebration (M) at Saint John’s Lutheran Church. Animated GIF by Google Photos.

I left home with plenty of time to get to church, so of course I experienced big transit delays. (The E crawled downtown.) I followed a series of signs to a rear room much smaller than the sanctuary we used last year. Susan R. R. couldn’t remember my name and made repeated apologies and excuses (most with the term “brain fart”) for it. The place was quite crowded, so she gave me her seat next to her husband Jim as she was sitting at the reception table. I couldn’t get over that their son James had a beard. {…} I sat near a man named Shane (שײן) who turned out to be sitting next to his wife or fiancée. A woman named Sunny sat to my right who works in a hospital, and smart, educated, and very Humanistic Howard A. was quite nearby. Far away, however, was Nir who was seated right next to that old lady I really like who wore great eyeglasses with even better earpieces.Gladys’ name tag kept falling off and she’d just automatically stick it back on, but I don’t think I photographically captured it well enough when it was upside down.

For a holiday symbolized by dietary fat, it was certainly a carbohydrate fest: lebibot, pizza, some bread with chocolate in it that I think was being passed off as khalla, pita and, for dessert, sufganiyyot. All I could eat was green salad.

The candle‐lighting liturgy was really good but the rab doesn’t have the dynamic personality to pull it off. And having us light the hanukkiyyot at our seats and then walk them fully lit to the rear table didn’t seem the best idea.

Dan W. hosted the trivia game again, and I was again on a team named after gelt. The questions were far far easier this year than last, and all the teams were racking up points. (What is the Hebrew name of the Jewish new year? What is the Yiddish word for chocolate coins?) With Howard, Nir, me and others on it, my team, the Gelt Trippers, won by half of a point and each of us received a box of Jewish postcards with vintage images on them. {…}

Photos of black man with cute haircut in Astor Place station.

Gotham Atheists’ Drinking with Atheists at Hi Life Restaurant.