A few days ago I volunteered with the Birmingham Jewish Federation raising money for the 2009 fundraising campaign. I spent several hours on the phone, calling the Federation’s members, talking to people and leaving voicemails. Surprisingly, I do very well on the phone – must be years of making Beige Book phone calls for the Federal Reserve. I also got to practice speaking Russian with some of the Russian-speaking members of the Federation.

It was a rewarding experience and gave me a chance to meet some other volunteers with the Federation.

And now, to the famous part. The Federation sends a daily email update to its members and guess what was published in the update?! ME!!! That’s right, a write-up on the fundraising efforts with the photo of me – too funny!

(for photo)

NEW FACE, NEW RESULTS

Newcomer Anna Berman making calls to donors on behalf of the 2009 BJF Campaign.

We pride ourselves at the Birmingham Jewish Federation on being open to anyone who wants to get involved in our wide array of activities. One of those who stepped forward recently to volunteer for the BJF is Anna Berman. Anna moved here a short while ago to do an internship for Southern Living magazine. She received an email from the BJF’s You Belong in Birmingham program, which welcomes young Jews to our community, seeking volunteers for our campaign telethons.

Anna volunteered and joined Jewish community members Lisa Engel, Maury Shevin and Barbara Bonfield at the BJF office, in making calls to donors this week on behalf of the 2009 BJF Campaign. Anna was born in Russia, which helped her secure pledges from donors who’ve come to Birmingham from the former Soviet Union.

I’m so happy to be tutoring again!!! I truly have missed it. As of this week, I will volunteer with Time to Read program (through work), mentoring/tutoring a 7th grader on a weekly basis. I have met “T” this Thursday – she’s a smart girl, perhaps a bit shy, or maybe I just wasn’t cool enough for her 🙂 – she did answer all my questions as part of the “let’s-get-to-know-each-other” but didn’t ask me a single thing.

It’s funny, I’m so used to tutoring 3rd graders, that I had to constantly remind myself that T is 12, I probably shouldn’t have asked her what her favorite cartoon was.

I have to admit, of all the things I would normally do on a Friday night, attending services at a synagogue would not be of them. So how is it that it is exactly where I ended up and in Birmingham, AL of all the places?!

True, I did join the local Jewish Community Center last week, and have been very happy using their gym. I’m also looking forward to participating in their community events and have already signed up to volunteer for their upcoming telephon fundraiser. But for me, going from gym to attending Friday night services is taking one giant leap – what made me jump?

Last week, I was picking up Jasmine (one of the interns at SPC) and noticed that she lives right next to Temple Emanu-El. In the land of churches (aka Alabama), I was astonished to see a synagogue, and this one was incredible stately and beautiful. A row of grand doors stood between me and the inside of the temple. But alas, the doors had no handles, and I could not enter.

Fast forward to this Friday. I drove Jasmine home (poor girl doesn’t have a car), and as we were walking pass the synagogue, I wondered whether they were holding Friday services. The thought of coming in did cross my mind, somewhat briefly, but once again, I couldn’t find a way in. That’s when Jasmine and I saw a group of students walking toward the synagogue – turns out there was a back entry, and so we went in.

The main hall where the services were held is breathtaking. The building must have been a church at some point. High ceilings, stained glass, very comfortable benches (ok, maybe this part has been recently renovated). I was relieved that the service was true to the reform nature – mostly in English, with beautiful singing, and a family atmosphere. I have to say though, besides some children, I must’ve been one of the youngest people present – the Jewish youth of Birmingham must be doing something else on Friday.

All in all, it was a peaceful way to spend an hour. The songs were both happy and thoughtful, and I did feel as a part of a small community. I am not sure how soon I’ll be back, but I am certainly happy to have discovered the entry to this place.

(I have a feeling I’ll have quite a few of these entries over the next few months here).

I went to a Dollar store yesterday to pick up a few cleaning supply items (why pay more if you don’t have to, right?). I have to admit, in general there are quite a few useful items you can pick at a Dollar store – like the above mentioned cleaning supplies, perhaps some tea candles, some kitchen items, etc. As a general rule, I stay away from any food items – although, there recently has been a book published called The 99 Cent Only Stores Cookbook: Gourmet Recipes at Discount Prices.

Well, imagine my shock and surprise when during my check out I notice a pregnancy detection test at the register. Seriously!? First of all, why would the store carry a pregnancy detection test, and most importantly, who would actually go ahead and buy a pregnancy test at a Dollar store!?

I’ll make this short and sweet. I am not a fan of paying a 10% tax on everything here in Birmingham, including food! This is THE highest tax percent I have ever paid, and I am not happy about it. There, I said it.

Rise and shine. It was a slightly earlier wake up call for me this morning. Forget the 10 o’clock morning sun, beaming at me through the window, pulling me out of bed. Instead, today I woke up on my own will at 6:30 in the morning, even without an alarm clock! Must be the nerves.

I headed out of the apartment just to see my car covered in the film of ice – welcome to the South! The cold front must follow me across the country. It’s a good thing I still have my handy dandy plastic scraper courtesy of Des Moines winter. I scraped, thawed, wiped and drove to work (pass some pretty big mansions – almost as big as the ones in Dallas).

I received a warm welcome (with some hugs) at work and got situated in my cubicle. Shocker of shocks – I’ll be working on a Mac!!! I haven’t used a Mac since high school. Time to learn.

Then it was time for paperwork – the usual, including the W-4 form – one of these days I’ll learn how many exemptions to claim and if I qualify for a head of household. For now, I had to remind myself that at my current income bracket it probably makes no difference.

Alright, to actual work stuff. I attended a monthly planning meeting where the editors of Southern Living and the test kitchen staff discussed the layout and stories for December 2009 issue! That’s right, Dec ’09, and we’re just in January. It was a bit overwhelming, I kept on looking from one person to the next, trying to remember their names and what they did – why weren’t they wearing nametags?! Seriously!

Then came the part that is a perk for those lucky to work at the culinary magazine – tasting! Several of the recipes tested were presented family style for the staff to taste and discuss. That made for a lovely “tapas-style” lunch. We had stuffing-stuff filet mignon, grilled sandwiches with pesto, sunny side up eggs, and bacon. Then came the series of recipes from pecan testing – pecan/gorgonzola buns, turkey/arugula/artichoke hearts/feta salad, croissant french toast, and there was even ice cream. It’s a good thing you get just a taste or two of each.

Back at my desk, I answered a few of the subscribers’ email questions in regards to the baking pans substitutions and found an old recipe using one of the intranet sites – success!!! – my skills as a former Research Analyst have not failed me, the Fed should be proud 🙂

So far so good!

A few years ago when visiting me in New York, Olga has purchased a beautiful silver ring at one of the boutiques in Brooklyn. I have admired the ring and wanted it to be mine. But alas, the store had only one ring to sell, and Olga beat me to it. I admit, the thought of just taking the ring and hoping that Olga wouldn’t notice it missing (she has an enormous collection of beautiful jewelry) has crossed my mind, but I just couldn’t do it.

So, imagine my surprise when today in the morning Olga handed me the ring! At first I thought she was giving it to me for keeps, which would’ve been great, but turns out she had even a better reason.

And now we get to the title of the post. Remember the movie, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? If for some reason you missed that masterpiece, the movie is about a pair of jeans that magically fits a group of friends. During the movie, each friend wears the jeans before passing it on to the next friend, and the jeans track the stories and adventures of their friendship.

But why share a pair of jeans when you can share a beautiful silver ring? Olga called the ring a Bravery Ring and gave it to me as a sign of bravery as I embark on my new adventure in Birmingham. As much as I would love to keep this ring, I can’t wait to pass it back to her as she takes a brave new step toward the future. To the Sisterhood of the Bravery Ring 🙂

My 2+ months of hanging out in Washington DC on Olga’s couch are officially over. I have given up the morning tv shows, sleeping-in, and lounging in pjs in favor of an exciting opportunity with Southern Living Magazine.

In a few days, I will be starting a 6-month internship with the magazine’s food department. As much as I have enjoyed hanging out with Olga and her friends (both new and old – who I am happy to call my friends now too), I’m looking forward to working again. I have heard a lot about Birmingham, both good and bad, but I am keeping an open mind and will discover it for myself.

Stay tuned 🙂