The Journey to Joining a People, and Rejoining the Blogging Community

To say this post is long overdue is an understatement. I won’t lie, I lost an interest in blogging, just after posting two blogs -____-  Maybe my Denver adventure wasn’t measuring up to all my expectations, or maybe I was just too busy becoming a true Colorado-an. Whatever the reason, I now have a real, life changing experience to write about. 

I am converting to become a Jew.

Now, the reason as to why I’m converting is not simple and a story of its own. Somewhere between being exposed to Jewish traditions in my boyfriends and friends families, discovering Jewish roots in my own family and coming to terms that I will raise a family (some day!), I realized that I want my future to hold a path. A spiritual path, a path that has a history that goes back thousands of years. A path that has family traditions that will continue on for generations. A path that will bind me with a people. So, I started researching Judaism. 

My journey so far has been eye-opening and beyond anything I could have asked for. I have learned not just the history of the Jews, but the history of the world. I have discussed G-d and what awaits us in the afterlife. I have made homemade matzo ball soup, set a seder table and prayed in shul. I am no where near ready to convert, but I feel like a little piece of me moves in that direction every single day. Sometimes its draining and exhausting to think about the ways I have to change my life around to become a Jew. Its even more difficult trying to explain to a close friend or relative why I am going through with this. I was never a spiritual person growing up, my family went to church once a year! Sure, I have a Jewish boyfriend and we hopefully have a bright future, but if for some reason things did not work out, I would still pursue this journey. Simply put, that information is hard for many people to grasp..

I don’t always believe in the whole “everything happens for a reason” spiel, but I do believe that certain events, close friends and a tiny bit of Jewish blood running through my veins has brought me here today.

80 Degrees and Snowy

So the end of last week and this weekend turned out to be eventful to say the least.  As mentioned in my previous post, I was preparing myself for an adventure in the city.  With my tall, blonde roommate at my side, I felt ready to explore and headed downtown.  To my surprise, not everyone in Denver is a happy-go-lucky-nature-loving hippie.  There are plenty of characters wandering the streets of downtown Denver and there is no shortage of bums (I’m referring to the homeless type, not the type who work in the mountains and run your lifts).  Regardless, we were on our way to wander around and hopefully catch a glimpse of the giant blue bear.

Let me add a side note: my desire to go downtown and explore has really been fueled by a massive blue bear.  The whole past week I have been expressing my excitement about seeing this artistic creation by the convention center.  Finally, my dreams were realized!  It may not seem like the most exquisite work of art that most have seen, but something about this enormous carnivore made me happy.

 

Onto Saturday… did I mentioned it was 80 and sunny?  Having lived in Ohio for the past 15+ years of my life, this sort of weather in March is unthinkable.  So what does one do on a perfect Saturday afternoon in the sun?  Drink and golf.

After embarrassing and impressing ourselves all in one session at the driving range, we decided to go to Black Hawk.  Let me tell you about Black Hawk…

Take an old mining town with a diminishing population, add some casinos, ban the use of bicycles and TA-DA!  Black Hawk.  Colorado’s least populous city with a biking ban.  Seeing as to how I am still unemployed and don’t like to see my hard-earned cash go in the hands of those who don’t deserve it, I didn’t gamble much.  My boyfriend and roommate, however, came out on top.  Wide-eyed and hands shaking, they were left wanting more but we managed to step away and get us on the road to Breckenridge.

Sunday I made the decision to not buy a lift ticket and check out the Breckenridge town.  This turned out to be a win and fail at the same time.  Win = strong winds and wet snow made for a bad day on the mountain and a worthless day of riding.  Lose= strong winds and wet snow ruined any dreams I had of shopping and hanging out in the town.  So after a sub-par day on the mountain, we headed back East.  To our dismay, 70-E was closed about 20 minutes into our drive due to weather (or lack of law enforcement doing their job) so we decided to make a pit-stop in Silvethorne/Dillon to shop around.  Who would’ve thunk that two guys could so easily out-shop me?  FINALLY, after waiting in traffic, exchanging Wendy’s french fries with nearby cars and a few naps, 70-E opened up and we headed home.

Eventful weekend for me, even if I didn’t win any money.

AG

New Kid at School

Today, just like every other day since I’ve moved here, I feel like the new kid at school.  No one to laugh at your occasional joke and no one to share a table with while eating lunch.  For some reason, every day I have been finding an excuse to not venture out of this apartment until I absolutely have to or am borderline-suicidal from seclusion.  I have obviously brought this on myself.  Sure I convince myself and the hardworking people that live in this apartment that I NEED to stay home, I must job search!  But who am I kidding?  I have applied to every open marketing position in Denver/Boulder, will have completed 3 interviews by the end of this week and feel pretty accomplished with myself.  Job searching has come to a halt.

Therefore, today, I am heading into town and seeing/discovering something new.  I no longer want to feel like the new kid wandering in the hallways when I walk downtown.  I want to feel like I belong, regardless if my license plates say Ohio or not, I will be one with Denver!  Who knows, maybe I will meet someone new (I highly doubt I will make a new friend on the street but writing it out makes me feel better).  Either way, I will have left this apartment for the day and have enjoyed the Colorado sunshine… the beige colored walls are starting to get to me.

AG