Biennial Blog Post #1

Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2005 - 12:58PM(PST)

My Biennial experience started this morning with something I had been looking forward to since June: voting in the WZO elections. I got the e-mail this morning, right before the SuperShuttle came, and I cast my vote for the ARZA slate. After voting for the second time in two weeks, (at least, for something that matters; ASUCD meeting votes don't count) I realized that voting is one of my favorite things to do. I know, I am a dork. I might even go so far to call myself a nerd. It still doesn't change the fact that I always feel so empowered after voting. It's so simple, yet it is the easiest way to make change happen. If you havn't already registered and/or voted, PLEASE register and vote at www.votereformjudaism.com.
After a pretty easy SuperShuttle ride to the airport, I checked in and sat down at my gate, A2. I was about an hour and a half early, so I just started working on some GarageBand projects. A guy walked by, sat down near me, and pulled out a guitar. It was a beautiful guitar - a custom made Larveiee D-series. He started to play some riffs, and I got really intimidated by his abilities. He mostly played bluegrass, but we were able to find some songs that we both knew (ie: "Man of Constant Sorrow," "Long Black Veil," and a jam in A). His name was Chad, he had just finished doing some session work for Dreamworks, and was flying to Detroit to audition for one of the "biggest bluegrass bands in the country." This guy was awesome. We talked about guitars, playing style (he had played with John Mayer at a festival, the 2nd guitarist for Cream at a random bar, Jean Larveiee - ie: the maker of Larveiee guitars), and other music items of interest. Something he mentioned, which I had never heard before, was that it is actually bad for the guitar to de-tune before going on a plane. This was contradictory to what I had been taught, as it would seem that the strings could break as the altitude gets higher and the strings contract. He said Jean Larveiee had taught him that you need to keep constant pressure on the strings so that you don't wear out and warp the neck and head. From this day on, I won't detune when going on planes. If there's someone I will trust on this subject, it's someone who makes guitars for a living.
Now I am just chilling on the plane, REALLY enjoying the fact that NFTY travel got me elite status on America West, and hoping that the flight doesn't get delayed so that I miss my connection to Houston.
Until a few lines down,
jg

Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005 - 1:21AM(CST)

It really is amazing. Every time I come home from an event such as this, my parents always ask "So, do you still want to be a Rabbi?" My answer is always yes; if anything, the event only strengthened my want to get into the Rabbinate. I can tell that even though I've only been in Houston for a few hours, this will be that kind of event.
Those who have been to a NFTY event or Kesher Convention will understand the following: You know when you arrive at an event and you find that it takes you far longer than it should to do a simple task, such as checking in, because you keep running into people you know? That's what Biennial has been for me so far. After arriving at the hotel, I kept seeing people from past experiences, beit NFTY Board(staff members, mentors, commission members, etc.), friends, camp, random past Jewish experiences. I'll give you an example. (And no, I'm not just naming these people to name-drop them, this story actually happened.) I was talking with a rabbi about Friday night's dinner service, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Craig Taubman walking past. I had never met Craig, but I had wanted to, so I quickly got out of the conversation with the rabbi, and I met Craig while we were walking across the sky-bridge that connects the hotel and the convention center. The conversation lasted maybe 45 seconds, but it was awesome. 2 minutes before that, I had never met the man, and because of the greatness that is Biennial, I had the opportunity to meet so many incredible people.
Until a few lines down,
jg