Passover begins in four hours, which is relevant only to those who observe, I guess. I used to celebrate Passover with my grandparents up until the age of 13 or so. The big group of people, the darkened room, the call and response as we all read (or recited) aloud, the plates full of food that I never liked to eat and the tiny cups of cheap wine that I hated. The room was always smoky, and there were rarely any young people there, so of course, I didn\’t like going. So of course, years later, now that my family is too frail to participate in such gatherings any longer, I miss the ritual.

As such, I\’m having an impromptu one of my own. I need a little thankfulness and some celebration in my life, \’cos this shiksa (my dad\’s blood line is Jewish, not my mom\’s) just scored herself a rent-controlled apartment.

Top floor, skylight, 900 sq ft, hardwood floors, two bedrooms, separate dining room, enclosed screened porch off the kitchen, iron-radiator heat, giant fenced-in yard, off-street parking in the back, four other units in the building, one block\’s walk to dining and such, three blocks to Sligo Creek Park, bus stop in front of my house, in the hippie city of Takoma Park. Pictures to follow later this week. Moving as soon as HOC inspectors give the go-ahead instead of waiting until my lease ends here on April 30, as my downstairs condo-owning neighbor has taken to yelling \”¡Usted puta!\” up at me through the floorboards, and I\’m sick of it. Let the people who buy this condo deal with her; I\’m through!

Two more worries out of the way. Another half dozen or so to go.

Wine and matzo tonight.

EDIT, 4:42pm EST USA And my tax refund arrived just arrived today. Not bad for someone who hasn\’t had a taxable income in four years. I\’ve never had a check from the U.S. Treasury before (tax refunds while employed had been direct deposited), and I have to say, it looks so nifty that I look a picture of it.

\"Pretty

How a gimp on public welfare barely scrapes by, puts 90% of non-rent, food, and utility bill money into medical costs and school, and gets a $30 tax refund after all the tax credits for education, health expenses, and the disabled, is a Mystery of our system that I will never understand. (But $30!!! That\’s big money to me. I don\’t have to buy the wine in the cardboard box; tonight, I can get a jug!)