Brennan Vs. Shabbat

After our team building on friday, we were in desperate need of grocery shopping, however it ended too late and we weren't able to go before the grocery store closed for shabbat, the jewish day of rest, which runs from friday at sundown until saturday at sundown. Once this happens, everything closes, including all restaurants and stores.

Now normally I'm all for religion. Well, no, that's not true. I'm not really all for religion, but I am all for people doing what they want, so in that sense, I'm all for religion. But I definitely am all for taking a day off to do nothing. Even a week or month off is alright in my book (Of course I think the jewish folks would say they are doing something, just not work. Listen, I don't want to get bogged down in the details, this isn't the point).

The point is that I'm all for it, except when it gets in the way of my hunger. All saturday I sit around with nothing to eat. I have one measly bowl of frosted flakes for breakfast cause we're running low. And you know what I have to put in it??????? Soy milk! That's right, soy milk, cause we're out of regular milk, but you can't go to the store, now can you. Some may argue, "Brennan, maybe you should have planned this out better." Now listen here, I'm just an ignorant tourist. And now I'm an ignorant starving tourist. Do they want my death on their hands?

So after that cereal, I had a bowl of very unsatisfying ramen for lunch. I don't know why it was unsatisfying, I think it may have been just my worry that there was no other food. Normally ramen is pretty good. After that I just squandered the day away thinking about how hungry I was, then took a nap at like 7 oclock just because I wanted it to be sundown so someone would go to the grocery store so I could eat again. And my plan worked!

So that was my first shabbat. I give it a straight two thumbs down. (On a somber and thumb related note, longtime ABC movie critic Joel Seigel died yesterday of colon cancer. I know he actually didn't do the thumb thing, but you know exactly what I mean so shut the hell up.)

Anyways, today we worked some more down at the lab to get ready for our first day tommorrow with the kiddies arriving. I learned about batch files and setting the classpath variables. While that means nothing to you, it means something to me.

We also had an all staff meeting to get ready or tomorrow where we went over the rules and scheduling. I had suspected that I would get a free meal out of this, even going so far as to predict that the free meal count would go up to my friend samantha. As with anytime I get arrogant about anything, it blew up in my face, no free meal. Well, I shouldn't say blow up in my face, baklava was served at the end. I had never had it before, and it was completely delicious, but since it was a dessert I choose not to count it as a half meal as I have done a hummus and pita snack. I am tempted to give it a quarter, but refuse to go to fractions lower than one half. A man has to have his principles.

Tomorrow will be our first day with the students. I'm in charge of the first lab. If the kids can't get "hello world!" to print out on their computer screens, I will walk back to boston with my tail between my legs. (only someone who has written computer code will understand that, I think) I will, barring an act of god, also be getting a free lunch there. If an act of god does prevent me from having this meal, I will never again reference any free meal, past, present, or future. Even my mothers delicious ham and potatoes. (originally the "ham and potatoes" said "marinated loin" which I changed for what I would think are pretty obvious reasons. But I just want to go on record that my mom actually makes a delicious marinated loin.)