5774 - Taking Stock (2)
2014-09-23 16:23![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asher55316:00. Amazingly enough, I passed the 802. Though truth be told, I just squeaked by - I scored 708, with 700 needed to pass. But that's OK, I did it, and I'm on my way to an A+ certification!
I want to focus on looking forward to the coming year - looking forward meaning both "eager anticipation" and "active planning". The school year at PSU starts right after Rosh Hashana, so at last I'll have something to get me out of the house and meeting people on a regular basis.
After the civil New Year I may move to another part of town. I like the NW okay but I'm not attached to it. I live near two Jewish congregations but they are liberal, rather than orthodox, synagogues, and are populated largely by aging baby boomers. I don't feel at home in either one.
About two miles from here there's a little cluster of Jewish-related institutions - the JCC, the Chabad bookstore, a Sephardic synagogue - and it's all close to a residential neighborhood where most of the active Jewish community live. Besides the Jewish component, it looks more family-oriented generally, which will be nice for Sophie when she comes to visit. Perhaps more pleasant for me, too; it'll be nice to be around kids. There's a big apartment complex I've got my eye on - they have a pool (nice for Sophie) and a gym (nice for me) and it's only a 5 - 10 minute walk from the Chabad. And the rent is on the order of HALF of what I'm paying here. I wouldn't mind going back to apartment living for a while.
More broadly, in terms of planning, I want to be better anchored in a community. I like living alone, but sometimes I hate it; I'd like to have some kind of steady relationship, whether a "marriage" in the traditional sense or otherwise. I'd like to have a circle of people that I'm close to, but still have enough space of my own. And I want security for the next phase of my life, whatever that may be. (Raising more kids? Who knows?) I feel we're living in dangerous and unstable times, and much of the world we've known may crumble in our lifetimes. What we build next will be up to us.
I want to focus on looking forward to the coming year - looking forward meaning both "eager anticipation" and "active planning". The school year at PSU starts right after Rosh Hashana, so at last I'll have something to get me out of the house and meeting people on a regular basis.
After the civil New Year I may move to another part of town. I like the NW okay but I'm not attached to it. I live near two Jewish congregations but they are liberal, rather than orthodox, synagogues, and are populated largely by aging baby boomers. I don't feel at home in either one.
About two miles from here there's a little cluster of Jewish-related institutions - the JCC, the Chabad bookstore, a Sephardic synagogue - and it's all close to a residential neighborhood where most of the active Jewish community live. Besides the Jewish component, it looks more family-oriented generally, which will be nice for Sophie when she comes to visit. Perhaps more pleasant for me, too; it'll be nice to be around kids. There's a big apartment complex I've got my eye on - they have a pool (nice for Sophie) and a gym (nice for me) and it's only a 5 - 10 minute walk from the Chabad. And the rent is on the order of HALF of what I'm paying here. I wouldn't mind going back to apartment living for a while.
More broadly, in terms of planning, I want to be better anchored in a community. I like living alone, but sometimes I hate it; I'd like to have some kind of steady relationship, whether a "marriage" in the traditional sense or otherwise. I'd like to have a circle of people that I'm close to, but still have enough space of my own. And I want security for the next phase of my life, whatever that may be. (Raising more kids? Who knows?) I feel we're living in dangerous and unstable times, and much of the world we've known may crumble in our lifetimes. What we build next will be up to us.
