Brief appearance

[liv]

While there's lots going on on DW, let me quickly post a current doings update:

Chanukah so far has been, shall we say, eventful. First candle happened immediately after Judith's 10^th birthday party, Harry Potter themed because everything is HP themed right now. OSOs and their children joined me and jack for lighting and making and eating latkes and playing one of our new chanukah present games: Sleeping Queens, a game designed by a 6yo child, which has a lot of randomness but doesn't drag at all.

Then I suddenly felt completely awful, and soon discovered that the cause was that I've caught the stomach bug that's been doing the rounds. So I spent the first day of chanukah miserably. My wonderful ghoti_mhic_uait came over to keep me company in the evening and we lit second candle and played a bit of Magic Maze (which I was too ill for) and gin rummy during candle time.

And the second day of chanukah I was scheduled to go to the other side of the country for a quite critical work meeting; I was feeling enough better by then that I decided not to cancel the travel. The meeting was generally productive and I'm glad I did make it, but the budget chain hotel where we stayed was cursed. First I got stuck in the lift, though it was a door malfunction at a floor rather than the really scary kind of stuck, and one of my fellow passengers managed to jiggle the safety catch enough to open up the jammed door and let us out. Then in the morning, the lock to my room door failed catastrophically and the maintenance guy had to come and saw through the bolt to get in. I was on the outside, not trapped, just temporarily separated from my stuff. The hotel staff were super lovely about dealing with these issues and even gave me a complementary bottle of wine to make up for the problems...

Third candle I video-called my partners and their children from the hotel room, and they lit third candle for me over video while I made the blessings. Which was extremely extremely lovely on their part, even if not completely ideal religiously. We told the story of Judith this time round, with enthusiastic participation from the real Judith :-)

I had asked our host university for permission to light fourth candle but it's a flame-free campus. My colleague insisted far more vehemently than I would have done that it was a religious obligation, and took the protest to the highest levels. Eventually the university grudgingly conceded that I could light, but we weren't to treat it as a precedent and I had to be really discreet about it. So, um, not naming the specific institution in a public post, and also, it kind of defeats the point if you have to hide rather than publicize the lights. Still, that was my 40^th birthday by the lunar calendar. We then went out for a very nice curry and a highly sociable evening.

Today I did half a day of further project progress, with no further hotel or digestive incidents. And half a day of travelling home very slowly, finally getting home to my husband who helped me light fifth candle. He also gave me a copy of Red 7, a game I'd wanted for ages, and we played the beginner version during candles.

So yeah, I'm completely behind on comments and other social things, but I'm here, I'm over the nasty lurgy, and I'm looking forward to the second weekend of the festival.

Comments

[ambyr]

I had asked our host university for permission to light candles but it's a flame-free campus. My colleague insisted far more vehemently than I would have done that it was a religious obligation, and took the protest to the highest levels. Eventually the university grudgingly conceded that I could light, but we weren't to treat it as a precedent and I had to be really discreet about it. So, um, not naming the specific institution in a public post, and also, it kind of defeats the point if you have to hide rather than publicize the lights.

Wow. I feel badly for their students. (Candles were banned in rooms at my college, but we were still able to light them under proper supervision at Hillel.

...snarkily I would like to know how their chemistry department is handling being flame-free.

[angelofthenorth]

If they even have a Chem dept given the number of closures there've been...

[liv]

It's a massively terrible rule, IMO. I mean, I understand that universities have a problem with drunk teenagers leaving unsupervised flames, but there needs to be a mechanism in place for groups to be able to light. I would have been fine jumping through bureaucratic hoops, but they don't even have procedures.

Flames in Chemistry Labs

[(Anonymous)]

When I was working in ICI Corporate Laboratory in the late 1960s, there was an absolute ban on naked flames.

However, despite all precautions we had a major fire one Xmas eve. ICI never found the cause. Ironically, the Lab Director had previously issued a stern edict that the day, a Friday, was a full working day. While the fire brigade were struggling with an inferno, the Director was vociferously rejoicing that everybody had been at extended Xmas lunches or on leave, so that only the security staff were still on site and nobody was hurt.

Southernwood

[jesse_the_k]

I devoutly hope this is the worst holiday you have, because that's highly terrible.

Also So, um, not naming the specific institution in a public post, and also, it kind of defeats the point if you have to hide rather than publicize the lights. kinda makes me want to scream.

[liv]

Sorry for making you feel like screaming! I was aiming for a humorous account of some minor mishaps, but thank you for sympathy anyway. My "favourite" part was the bit where the room where they grudgingly let me light candles as a special gesture of goodwill had a big poster with a picture of flames and the words "happy hanukkah!".

[angelofthenorth]

Chag Sameach.

I'm sorry, I can't answer your 5 questions you asked. I've got totally blocked on them.

And yay for your colleague.

Lots of love.

[liv]

Sorry my meme questions landed wrong. But I get to talk to you properly soon and I'm not really worried about the prompts.

I was impressed with colleague too, she really went to bat for me.

[ayebydan]

I'm sorry to hear that you were ill but glad you're feeling better now.

[alatefeline]

That is quite the saga, candle-wise!

[lavendersparkle]

It always drives me a bit crazy that universities don’t get how discriminatory flame-free policies are toward students whose religious practice involves flames. Actually looking back, it’s also appalling how bad some Cambridge colleges were to students who kept kosher.

[liv]

Yeah :-/ Even when they try they assume that all religions are like Christianity, and all we need is a "faith space" for formal communal prayers on pre-defined occasions.

In the course of investigating the situation at [Northern partner] campus, I learned that their CathSoc hold services in the local church because there's nowhere suitable for them on campus. I mean, I'm all in favour of mixing town and gown communities, but not because religious groups are excluded from celebrating together in their temporary home. I didn't find out what Hindus are expected to do about puja.