Love Letter

Dear Cassandra,

You make me so happy.
The whiteness of your keyboard only illuminates your purity.
Your keys are soft and respond to my touch so quickly...it's effortless.
When I am on the phone with slow customer service agents, you ease my pain and frustration by pulling up information with agility and speed.
You soothe my brain with the many colors and techniques you offer on your screen.
I promise to take care of you and treat you with respect and love.
Our relationship will only grow with time.
You bring new worlds to me through your window of electronic data, and I am amazed at your ability to show me new worldly landscapes. You make work more enjoyable and aid me in my process of making the world a better place.
We are partners in crime, you and I. You are always ready to go as soon as I call on you, quickly waking up for the work we must embark upon daily.

Oh Cassy. I promise to cherish you.
How I love thee.

Leah

New Screen

I recently bought a MacBook. It rocks. I have many people in my life who swear by Mac's and feel they are a member of something bigger than them...and after holding my new toy in my hands for 3 days, I can tell you, it's true. I named my computer "Cassandra" after day 2, mostly because the white piece of brilliant machinery looked so cute sitting on my desk, I had to give it a name. (I talk to her anyway, I might as well have a way of catching her attention. I'm guessing she'll talk back one of these days.) I keep having conversations with friends about how amazing she is, how well she works and how excited I am to do work because of my new friend. She loads so quickly, her keys are soft and the screen is bright. Mostly I love her cause she's so full of memory. And that means that I won't have to keep so much in my head because she's holding it in hers.

When I get so involved in something that taps me into a cohort of a group, I become very committed, passionate and excited. And in the beginning, it stays on my mind. When I first come back from Israel, my eyes still think I am seeing men passing me in kippot and women wearing mogen david's. So since I have joined the Mac world, I keep thinking everyone around me is using a Mac also. I keep looking for the Apple when I pass by coffeeshops, discerning the PC users from the Mac users. I used to be in the PC club but I've joined a new one...

The most obvious moment I am in a land of obsession was last night when I was at dinner with my sister. There we were, having sushi on a humid Chicago night, catching up when I picked up on the conversation the women was having on her cell phone behind me. It sounded like she was giving someone directions, talking about expressways and choosing her words with a sense of urgency. I thought she was a member of the club when I heard her say, "Are you looking at your Mac?" My head snapped around, cutting my sister off mid sentence. No way! Even the woman in the restaurant behind me was in the Mac world! But as I turned back to my sister, jaw dropped, she was only laughing and shaking her head at me. "What?" I inquired. "She didn't say Mac," Rachel said. "She said MAP. Man, you are obsessed."

She's right. But like any proud member of a new club, I have to partake in my initiation ceremony, right?

Members of the Tribe

This past July, I spent a whole month in the amazing city of Jerusalem. I spent my days learning in classes on Judaism. I spent my evenings walking around the streets, meeting friends for dinner, shopping and observing the difference in cultures from my own. People watching is one of my favorite things to do in foreign environments. In short, it was of course phenomenal. I am often amazed when I find how quickly I adapt to new situations. This time was no exception. Every time I am in Israel, I get used to the many symbols that a Jewish state exists. It's comforting and familiar to see mezuzah's on office doorways, restaurants and households. The blessing for safe travel is above the exit door on every bus traveling from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. There are hand washing stations set up at falafel stands so customers can wash before eating bread. And mostly, I notice the kippa's drifting, darting and dashing past me on the street. Women wearing skirts, sandals and scarves in their hair. The reason this is so interesting to me is that in Israel and Jerusalem specifically, you see such diversity in our people just from walking down the street. In America, in Diaspora, it's much more segregated. Your ideology tends to match the shul you frequent and most everything that goes along with that including laws on kashrut, shabbat keeping and how the prayers in synagogue will operate. Not so in Jerusalem. There is the inevitable celebration of diversity within religiousity and I find it to be exhilarating. Why? Because it's celebrating the gray. It's easy to see that being a person who is committed to a religious life comes in many shapes and forms. And that's a lesson for all of us who wander there. It's not about the rules you follow within the boundaries of your selected space. It's about what you bring to the table once you're there. And that permeates Jewish living in Jerusalem, evident in lay led prayer groups, regular Torah learning and practice of Kashrut. This is not to say the country does not face challenges among people or have a hard time meeting the needs of observant Jews. Like any other group, there are problems. Living in Israel is not perfect or meant to be looked at through rose colored glasses. But what excited me about interacting with those who live there is the freedom of individuals to be committed honestly and engaged in the process of living a Jewish life. The labels fall away. The boxes become less important. And your neighbor becomes a fellow human being and less a member with a pass to the same local center where you belong.

In a letter to a friend...

I've joined the better side of life. The Mac is amazing.
I woke up this morning and started talking to it and decided to take with me to work so it wouldn't be lonely.
I haven't decided on a name yet, so 'mac-ie' is the filler for now.
Such a fine piece of machinery should never be left alone to allow dust and debris to infiltrate it's delicately designed inner workings.
It is sitting on my desk right now, in all it's white glory.
iLife installed, Apple Protection in place, .Mac activated...
my sales rep shook my hand and said "welcome to the mac world'
and my life, professional and artistic, possibly even spiritual, will never be the same....

Friend's Response...

Welcome to the tribe.
I think that being a Mac user is a lot like
being Jewish. You are now part of a small,
influential group of computer users who are
working to make creative change in the world.
We all have faith that our Cohen Gadol, Steve Jobs,
will steer us in the right direction and
provide us with drool-worthy technology.
The most interesting thing about it is
that it's not quantifiable. The Mac experience
is just that. It's an experience. You can't
explain it by referring to CPU's, motherboards,
or RAM. It's just that feeling of things
working the way they should. No need
to worry about viruses, driver incompatibilities,
or blue screens of death. The Mac gets out
of your way and lets you do what you need
to do. Now it is still a computer and you will
have issues from time to time. But once
you go Mac, there's no going back! May you
use your new computer to shed light on the
world and fulfill your dreams.