Depends who says it. For example, when my mother says it, it means she is soft spoken and sweet. When a certain friend of mine says it, it means she has a unique background. When a certain other friend of mine says it, it means she comes from a troubled home. So, it depends on who says it.

I second avi. UMCP is a great school for a frum Jew. I was considering going there for while before deciding to attend the school I am currently enrolled at. UMCP has a large Jewish student body, kosher food, minyanim, and is relatively close to both Silverspring and Baltimore. There is also a campus in Baltimore county itself. There are also numerous schools in the Midwest with kosher food and minyanim close by and a large Jewish student body. UIC, MUOhio, LTU, and UWM are just a few.

When I daven and do all these segulos over the Holiday, I first try to ask G-d to grant a sweet new year to all those Jews in less fortunate situations than myself before asking for my own year. I just think that it’s an opportunity that G-d is giving us to ask for things and He will listen, and there are so many Jews who have much more difficult lives than me, or won’t be praying at all over the Holiday, and I feel obligated to ask that these people should be granted wonderful new years before I bring up myself, since they need a positive change in their lives so much more than I do.

I don’t know if this is the right thing to do, but I feel right doing it.

I’m sorry, adorable. I thought you would be too busy.

This would actually greatly impact the theory of one type of “time travel” which is based on the theory of relativity. Which is: Since nothing can travel faster than light; If you are strapped into an object travelling 99.9% the speed of light for an extended period of time, during that time, the laws of nature will slow you down to a certain degree to keep you from moving faster than light, since nothing can be faster than light. And during that time that you are slowed down, everything else in the universe is happening and moving at the usual speed. So in essence, 5 minutes of your “slowed down” time can be 10 minutes in the rest of the world, since time for you is slower. Which means, at that rate, if you spend 20 years in that object traveling at that speed, and then leave the object, the rest of the world will have been in existence for 40 years. So you “traveled” 20 years into the future.

So, this new discovery would completely destroy that theory. Of course, that theory of “time travel” has never really been thought possible, anyway.

Have a wonderful shabbos, everyone.

I’ve always loved science and history museums, planetariums, and aquariums. I recently began to appreciate art history, and would definitely love an art museum. I really love the Indy 500 Motor Speedway Museum in Indianapolis and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.

aries, I like what you said. In my mind, a great marriage is when a spouse doesn’t even consider it a “chore” when doing something that will help the other. It should be considered a privilege. A husband should cherish the opportunity to do something for his wife that will make her happy or her life easier. Making her happy should make him happy.

I look forward to the opportunity when I G-d willing get married to help my wife do any household chore that would make her life easier.

I recently remembered a song I wrote in high school, with the lyrics about a soldier dying in battle, and his final thoughts.

Here I lay on blood soaked ground

Surrounded by the dead, waiting to be found

Chaos of war flows through my veins

For the blood once there, now the ground it stains

I look to my side, and see nothing but gray

Smoke of gunfire darkened up my day

As my soul departs and life shuts its iron door

I know I’m like any victim of war

I sigh to the thought that my existence will now cease

And my memories will scatter like dust in the breeze

I’ve got no hope left, there’s no way I can survive

Only my headstrong mentality keeps me alive

I look to my side, and see nothing but gray

Smoke of gunfire darkened up my day

As my soul departs and life shuts its iron door

I know I’m like any victim of war

Queen Bee, I loved Skyroads! Some other old games I played that I forgot to mention are all the Sims games (Sim City2000, Sim Farm, Sim Tower, Sim Town), Nightmare 3D, TMNT, Heretic, Ninja Rabbits (I loved that one), MYST. There was also some game I can’t remember the name of where you were a little troll with a yoyo as a weapon…do you know what I’m talking about? I loved it.

What program lets you play the DOS games? I’d love to play those again. And yeah, I had a feeling your favorite was the NE because all girls want to be the NE (cuz that’s the prettiest character), no? Maybe I’m generalizing :). That’s funny that you wrote a story on the NE! I’d love to read it..maybe you can post it (If the mods let)? I won’t laugh, I promise! And yeah, I’d love to play Wolfenstein again. I loved how at the end of the game when you are walking out of the castle the screen turns around and shows you running and then jumping and yelling “Yeah!!” Lol.

tte, I’m in my lower 20’s, so yeah, we’re talking about Wolfenstein 3D, the original. I personally was never into nes, we always just had a computer (although we now have an xBox, but I don’t use it), so that’s all I really use.

K, thanks, I’ll definitely check out RoM! And I just noticed you love the NE specie in WoW…I knew that would be your favorite 😉

If I remember correctly, I was a human paladin.

Haha, Carmen Sandiego! A classic. I grew up on Doom, Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem, Whiplash, Sonic, and a bunch of others I can’t remember.

Oh yes, the horror-type games are usually amazing! Especially at 2 am with the volume up…incredible atmosphere!

And L4D is quite a stomach churner. Although, so is PK-OD and I actually really liked that one.

But really, that whole game type isn’t my favorite. My favorite type is the Fantasy RPG. Less violence, more fun.

Good Question, 80. I really don’t know for sure, but it’s possibly because everyone gets a thrill from fighting zombies, so it probably sells more than a game where you fight, say, vampires. (Though I’d totally be into that, too.)

Wow, ayc, you got here first this week! I guess adorable is too busy right now. Anyway, have an inspirational, yet relaxing shabbos everyone.

I will try to work on being more sensitive to others’ feelings.

Hmm, probably best to stay safe and not mention any games by name…

Concerning animation: true, it would be quite difficult for anyone, especially a Jewish girl, to work in game design. However, there are many other types of animation-related career options available which are easier to pursue, and most are able to be done (both schooling and jobs) online. Like web media design/animation, web advertising design/animation, graphic design, computer simulations, product rendering, and many more I’m sure.

I used to make cartoon animations and played around with 2D/3D graphics software. I mostly used Anime Studio, Photoshop, and Sketchbook. Now, for school, I use pretty hardcore programs, including Rhino, Maya, Corel, Illustrator, Graphite, and a few others. I also use a Wacom tablet to draw with.

If you have any questions please ask!

Queen Bee, yeah, we do feel the same about pretty much all the bullet points you mentioned. And about living in a small community, your concerns are definitely valid. But chances are there won’t be as many people you would want to avoid, anyway…And about the concern of people being in your business, that may depend on your outlook about it. You’ll definitely have your privacy, but yes, people will generally be more concerned about you and involve you more in their own lives, and probably expect you to involve them a little in yours.

Concerning a situation like mine, I don’t think that is unique to an “out of town” community necessarily, but rather to the particular situation I was in. I think the problem for me was that I didn’t receive enough care and support, and in a smaller community, chances are there would have been more care and support.

And yeah, I also feel like I stand out in a crowd. But that’s just how I am. When I was in bais medrash, I would be the only one in my shiur wearing a colored shirt, let alone an ORANGE or GREEN shirt. I actually don’t like blending in.

About the CR, what you said is actually why I think it’s a great place for you. And me, for that matter. We get to discuss things in a Jewish environment, hear others’ opinions that we may have never thought of, and discuss our own opinions (when the mods let) that others can appreciate.

Hmm, some of my other interests…I pretty much love anything that involves creativity. So that includes art, music, architecture, literature, product/car design, film, animation, gaming, cartoons, plays, performances, sports, public speaking, cooking, and many other things that I can’t name right now. But yeah, I love creativity. What are some of your interests? (Besides taking online algebra quizzes.)

Queen Bee, in regard to your post which lists many reasons you feel ‘out of place’, I feel exactly the same way about A, D, E, and I.

I loved the community where I went for high school. It is really tiny (Maybe 40 Jewish families), and even though they are very diverse, they all consider themselves one group, all daven at one shul, all invite each other to their simchas, all get along beautifully. Some wear black hats, some wear jeans, some wear white shirts, some have never worn a white shirt in their lives, some women wear shaitels, some women don’t cover their hair. And none of them consider themselves “better” than someone else. No one is “yeshivish”, “MO”, or any other worthless label. Everyone is simply “Jewish”. That’s the type of community I want to live in, because I, like you, don’t like conforming, have very different views about many things, and I also feel like I don’t really belong in the CR. I know I’ve offended people here when discussing my views on certain things. So I guess it’s not really because you live in New York that you feel this way. It is probably more of a personality and values thing.

I can’t generalize, but here’s some interesting stories. First of all, I have lived all my life well out of NY, so I would consider myself quite an “out of towner”. And even so, I went to a high school that was even more “out of town” than what I was used to, and I saw some things that surprised me. One example was actually something similar to what someone brought up already, but it happened on a more extreme level: A woman sitting by a red light actually dozed off and the light turned green and then red again before she woke up, and the cars behind her just waited patiently till she woke up! Another example was when I was in a supermarket there, and the people walking by kept saying to me “good afternoon!” And they said it to everyone! I actually found it really nice. Everyone greeted everyone else.