shabbating it

i just had the most relaxing 24 hours. my roommate went to tel aviv for shabbat and i was here, all aloooone. well, except for my laundry, which has been keeping me company since 4 pm on friday (the last load is presently in the dryer). AHHHHH IM NEVER DOING LAUNDRY AGAIN! ok i have a feeling that isn't true. i like clean clothes. however, for my next laundry escapades i really wanna find some dryer sheets. i cannot find them ANYWHERE! what's a girl gotta do to get some bounce around here? seriously.

so this was the first shabbat i've had by myself in the new apartment. since virtually everything's closed on shabbat here, there's not much to do - especially when you're living in an apartment full of religious girls who you happen to like and respect (which i did, very much so, therefore i did not use my computer, talk on the phone, shower, cook, etc...)... so, for the most part, i observed shabbat fully while in the apartment - and most saturdays if i needed to get some work done, i'd walk around the corner to my office, and work (and use the microwave and toaster and fridge and telephone.. if only the office had a shower...) i did this on many occassions, except there was that one time when i walked up one saturday and heard the alarm going off and apparently scared off the burglars who had just broken in. they didn't take anything, shockingly, since my digital camera was like, out in plain sight... so maybe i really did scare them away... but the alarm scared me away - i called my boss and got the hell outta there. the fact we were one of 8 break-ins in rechavia that night is pretty scary. cats crawled through the broken glass door and took over our office. THAT was scary, too. the chairs were DISGUSTINGLY covered in cat hair the next day. EW. i never went back to the office on shabbat after that.

so, back to the present. this shabbat, i did laundry. i showered. i blow-dried my hair. i did more laundry. i listened to music. i spent a while playing around on my computer. i caught up on some work. i COOKED! on shabbat. i cannot explain how nice it is to feel comfortable in a place of my "own." not that i didn't feel at home at the other apt., but i was always really cautious/overtly paranoid that i might offend someone, leading to roommate tension or broken friendships or them throwing me back out on da street. i loved that apartment. and there was something really special about keeping shabbat. really. it was challenging, but i really enjoyed it. however, i don't think fully observing shabbat is for me. at least not right now. or maybe ever.

anyway, when you aren't "subletting" or worried about breaking rules, it's a really comforting feeling. this morning, err, afternoonish, i ALMOST felt israeli cause i made such a delicious breakfast. i made an omelette and used our brand new cheese grater (actually i think i got a little grater-happy... it was my first time.. yeah. i just wrote that.) and the deliciously almost-american tasting MILD cheddar cheese that i got from the cheese man at the shuk. the first time i asked if they had cheddar, and the man was like, "no. i do not hev sheddar today. but for you, for you with the pretty eyes, i hev sheddar." spare me. please. anyway, i was really excited to get familiar tasting sheddar. with my omelette, i cut up some red bell peppers, cucumber and carrot, and had some hummus and pita AND juice AND fruit. israeli style, right? i really felt proud. you have no idea.


laundry's done. YESSSSSSSSSS