A still incomplete dance

Shabbat was very nice. Kabbalat Shabbat showed me a few things I don't want to do as a shaliach tzibbur (literally messenger of the congregation: the person who leads prayer). THe guy who did so did what would have been a really nice job at a bit of a change of pace, except that he wasn't quite confident enough, didn't quite stick to one key, added back in something that wasn't in the prayerbook most of us were using, and used a tune he didn't quite know that was a bit too slow to be used for so long for Lecha Dodi. Basically, it boils down to: he wasn't really sure of himself or in good touch with the congregation. Verdict: Reading torah is a heck of a lot less complicated. Dinner was nice, if a bit quiet on my own part, but that's far from unusual. After singing, which was a rather mischevous event, I spent some time with Sharona and then headed over to a gathering I'd been invited to. However after a bit, I went out in the hall with Steve to talk, and by the time we returned, she decided to leave. I left soon thereafter, returned home, finished working on my torah reading, and slept. Today was much in a similar vein, but with different folks.

After Shabbat, I hung out with Miriam some, and we went for ice cream with Selig and a couple of folks whom I didn't really know. It was pleasant. We got back, I sulked a bit, and wrote a poem that might have turned out decently, and then worked on my choreography, but I still don't like the ending (although there is at least a sketch of one now) very much. I might just ask the rest of the group to help me fill in the blanks, at this point. Either that or actually ask for the help that I'd asked for more vaguely before: I'm feeling out of interesting steps to use: I feel like it's all jsut a lot of walking around into different positions, but using cha-chas. It doesn't feel too Israeli, all the time, it just feels like dramatic movement. Maybe I'll feel differently tomorrow during rehearsal. I'm not feeling too confident about this whole thing. ANd we still need a 6th person: ours bailed on us, and we're still looking for a replacement. And if we don't find someone, I'll have to rework the last piece for 5 people instead. That shouldn't be Too hard, but I'd really rather that I didn't have to.

Overall, it's been a quiet and mildly discontent Saturday night. I guess I should make better plans, or something. Or rather, just be happy with what I get, which is far from bad: I had a nice time getting ice cream, I had a lovely Shabbat over all, and a busy day tomorrow to look forward to. I should say, even get some work done. So much for that. Sometimes I just don't understand myself this way.

A still incomplete dance

Shabbat was very nice. Kabbalat Shabbat showed me a few things I don't want to do as a shaliach tzibbur (literally messenger of the congregation: the person who leads prayer). THe guy who did so did what would have been a really nice job at a bit of a change of pace, except that he wasn't quite confident enough, didn't quite stick to one key, added back in something that wasn't in the prayerbook most of us were using, and used a tune he didn't quite know that was a bit too slow to be used for so long for Lecha Dodi. Basically, it boils down to: he wasn't really sure of himself or in good touch with the congregation. Verdict: Reading torah is a heck of a lot less complicated. Dinner was nice, if a bit quiet on my own part, but that's far from unusual. After singing, which was a rather mischevous event, I spent some time with Sharona and then headed over to a gathering I'd been invited to. However after a bit, I went out in the hall with Steve to talk, and by the time we returned, she decided to leave. I left soon thereafter, returned home, finished working on my torah reading, and slept. Today was much in a similar vein, but with different folks.

After Shabbat, I hung out with Miriam some, and we went for ice cream with Selig and a couple of folks whom I didn't really know. It was pleasant. We got back, I sulked a bit, and wrote a poem that might have turned out decently, and then worked on my choreography, but I still don't like the ending (although there is at least a sketch of one now) very much. I might just ask the rest of the group to help me fill in the blanks, at this point. Either that or actually ask for the help that I'd asked for more vaguely before: I'm feeling out of interesting steps to use: I feel like it's all jsut a lot of walking around into different positions, but using cha-chas. It doesn't feel too Israeli, all the time, it just feels like dramatic movement. Maybe I'll feel differently tomorrow during rehearsal. I'm not feeling too confident about this whole thing. ANd we still need a 6th person: ours bailed on us, and we're still looking for a replacement. And if we don't find someone, I'll have to rework the last piece for 5 people instead. That shouldn't be Too hard, but I'd really rather that I didn't have to.

Overall, it's been a quiet and mildly discontent Saturday night. I guess I should make better plans, or something. Or rather, just be happy with what I get, which is far from bad: I had a nice time getting ice cream, I had a lovely Shabbat over all, and a busy day tomorrow to look forward to. I should say, even get some work done. So much for that. Sometimes I just don't understand myself this way.