Taliesin Haugh MH-CLE

Taliesin Haugh here, speaking through the e-auspices of my roomie Shiah due to a complete failure to work and play well with blogger under my own efforts...
My first attempt at blogging, hurried and long postponed, awaits me now and all you who read hereafter...
Let me say that I'm not an experienced writer, that I prefer to speak, dance, heck guys I'll draw in the sand with a stick before writing if I can. Alright, I suppose that's enough of a preface for our purposes.
Due to software miscommunication this entry finds me opening into the third month of my participation with Moishe House here in beautiful Cleveland Heights, OH.
We are celebrating political and social change, pursuing several degrees in science and education, teaching, throwing awesome parties, engaging our peers in thoughtful debates, holding down at least 6 jobs, and becoming more and more prominent in our jewish community. It's a busy house. Shabbat may be the only time all four of us actually sit together at once, but we've all been working in the same direction since we moved in and honestly, we're a better group for all of the pressure we're under.
I've never really had roommates that could be relied upon to wash the dishes... these guys took them to the mikvah. Instead of a passing interest in each others' lives, we've actually be *pooling* our interests, whether they be music, movies, art or events. So far, I think the four of us are leading by example how to maintain a community spirit. Something like this house has always been an aspect of this neighborhood, a place where the young musicians and artists tend to congregate... only this house, it's more focused, and a place to celebrate jewish life and culture. Yes, I'd say I'm pretty excited. What more to say? I hope we don't alienate our less liberal friends in the weeks to come by celebrating too loudly last night's results...
namaste
-Ti

Sam Selker MH Cleveland

So by now we all know what has gone on in this country over the last 48 hours. I am so relieved to have a president I can be proud of now. I attended a rally for President-elect Obama on Sunday night here in downtown Cleveland. Bruce Springsteen sang some songs while playing acoustic guitar and then Barack took the stage and spoke to the crowd of approximately 80,000 people. The energy was electric. The crowd was excited and it was amazing to be a part of. He gave a speech (which I later found out was covered by CNN). These are crazy times to be a citizen of the United States. So now that the dust has settled on election day, and with only a handful of races still too close to call, we have learned a lot about the state of the country, about the direction we are headed, and about what we believe as a people.

I am so excited.

Lee MHLA Nov. 08

Obama that's right our new President elect. I am really looking forward to the upcoming times shared by us as a Moishe peoples and us as US peoples. This month has some nation wide tradition mixed with Jewish culture. Turkey day and Shabbot and all that hot. Come celebrate a new future and a grand community.

Dave Eagle, MHLA, 11/05/08

What an amazing election this has been and what a privilege it is to be a part of American history. My mother called me on the phone a little after it was announced that Obama had won the election. She had been watching with her husband and neighbor and had the sound of tears in her voice. "We won!!! We won!!" she yelled with excitement. "I just had to call you and share the moment. I never thought this day would come!" "So many", she told me, "have fought for basic civil liberties for all and the opportunity to become whomever you want to be in this country. We were so excited when I was young to have John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy speak out against the injustices in the world and it was so discouraging to see all three assassinated. I'm just can't believe the day is finally here." Of course I was excited too, but instead of quickly replying I just sat back and smiled at my mother's exhilaration.
It's time to fix our country people!!!!
~Dave MHLA

I ate the ghost that ate pacman, basically im the S**t.

So, its been a month already, where does the time go i ask, and i answer to Moishe house events. No seriously its been hectic. All the past events have been a ton of fun, movies and shabbat dinners, and parties galor. I have been learning alot through each event of who i am as a person. There is a quote that i just heard of recently that i am not done growing up but im not oppressionable anymore that i feel fits me perfectly as i continue to grow.

something else i have noticed since becoming a a house is that we eat alot of food, yummy delicious food.

Also thank god the elections are over,

Ilana schuman-Stoler ;moishe house chicago

Hellooooooo Everybody!!!!!

Well I am glad I waited to update my blogosphere. I must say. Being live at Grant Park for Obama's acceptance speech was one thing. Being live at the whole buildup and pre-show was quite the experience. Being a Chicago native myself, I must say I take pride in events such as this where not only the city know's what's up but THE WORLD watches. My mayor, mayor Richard Daley can be an interesting guy but the fact that his buddies organized an event such at this high level profile. The security was really chill and they really made the backdrop of the city so beautiful that the only thing anyone wanted to do was stand in awe of where we were. I really cannot iterate enough how happy I am to live in Chicago at this moment and how happy I am to live in a city that gave birth to the Barack Obama we all know. We have an uphill battle to fight from here but I am confident that after making a decision like this, we are ready to take on what we need to. Including standing up for our civil rights and following through with our promise to reach across to the other side; wherever it may be. Additionally being a part of Moishe House for this experience has really been great. People to talk to through the primaries, House to welcome people for the debates and what came between, I have really truly enjoyed this experience and it has been a privilege to be a part of such a community. I think we are the ones who will now have to step up and move forward into the next generation. This is our time to set the standards and make the rules. So again we go forth to another month and I hope that we can keep this momentum and continue to bring people in to this community. Happy beginning of the holiday season. I hope everyone stays warm.

The first Wednesday in November

I was struck last night by the level of excitement shown by young folks all over San Francisco, including the 17 people who came to our house to share in watching the election results come in. While I voted for Obama, for some reason I didn't share in the same level of excitement exhibited by the majority of people I was hanging out with. I certainly understand the tears and overjoyment of black people, especially those who were around when there was legal discrimination. However, I just didn't feel like I was anywhere close to the emotional level of excitement of those around me who were crying or uncontrollably screaming with joy. The scene reminded me of a sports team winning a national championship, with people saying things like, "we did it!" My response is to think, "what exactly did you do?" Obama is president, and I think he's going to do amazing things, but it's a little self righteous of people who didn't put much effort into the campaign besides wearing a trendy pin to say that they individually have accomplished something. I just hope for the next four years that people remain excited, and try to act in a way where they can look back and legitimately say "I did something." Lots of people are saying this is the most anticipated presidency since JFK, and he hit it right on the head in describing how people need to act when he said, "ask not what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country."