LEAPIN' LIZARDS

B"H


Wednesday, August 27th

I made some lunch & got ready for my class with my sofer. I arrived at 1 p.m. & his wife let me in: "Mi zeh?" she called down the stairs, "Aviel" I responded, suddenly thinking that I might be early because my brain is so unreliable when I'm tired...oh well, I thought, we're friends anyway, so no biggie, I'm sure.
"Come say hello to the birthday boy", she beckoned me inside. "Aw, jeez - I can't believe I forgot..." I said. So he was was still eating lunch & she got me some water & their eldest child brought me birthday cake. We chatted for a bit about her trip to Tel Aviv with the kids, how her work is going, etc. - she is *very* cool. I really like her a lot.
I happily reminded her that *she* had a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks & she sort of waved it off with a smile.
So I headed down to meet my sofer in his studio & his wife invited me for Shabbes - YAY!
I gasped when I saw the ketubah he was working on on his drawing board - elaborate scenes of crashing waves at dawn, of stags & eagles & *vultures* all surrounded by "papercut" panels on klaf. He mumbled something about a monstrosity. I was speechless with horror.
He showed me the facsimile of a Haggadah thathe'd done & had just dropped off. It was quite amazing - very naive gouache illustrations & his calligraphy. He'd obviously had a little fun with it. The reproduction was so good, you could practically scratch the gouache off the paper :) Then we talked about Woody Allen & he did an impression for me of the Pocket Watch Joke.
We got to work. He panicked today about how much time we have left. I felt pretty unnerved by that, but this is my sofer. "You're leaving too soon," he mumbled. "You said 20 sessions", I countered. He proposed we make a schedule & I agreed - & I'm going to hold him to it for Friday. Once that's set up, I'll call Dov (another sofer who teached women some things, but not everything) & try to get sewing learned...
I was quite critical of my homework & of the work I was doing in front of him. He reassured me that it was just that my quills weren't sharp enough & that the particular klaf I was working on was exceptionally furry & that not to worry - I'd "get" it. That's how you get supportive statements out of him - you criticize yourself before he has a chance to :) He gave me more klaf & I left.
I was home by a quarter to 3, having spent a little over an hour with my sofer on Hey, Yud & Khaf, & crashed out until 6:30. Blah. SO tired...
It was only a 15-minute stroll to the closest mall & when I got to the front door security the two Ethiopian men there tried to pick me up, so I said, "S'licha, medabeyr anglit?" ("Sorry, do you speak English?") They stared & I shrugged. I slipped by them :)
On my way out I ran into Yuri, the security guard from Strudel ("Mike's Place"). We chatted & I headed on.
On my way into my front gate I saw the lizards for the first time up close - they're *so* CUTE! Little & rubbery looking skin & big eyes & pale bands of bare colour...& SUCTION CUP TOES!!! It occurred to me that these wee beasties couldn't possibly be the banging, clawing creatures I hear & feel every night against my walls & roof, so...what sort of animals could be responsible?!?!? I shudder to think!
The stuff of nightmares...