Change of Pace

Well the students graduated on Friday so things are much quieter now. There is still some end of the year issues to deal with but things will be somewhat slower this summer. It won't be completely dead though. My co-worker Melissa and I have to advise high school students who are here as part of the summer institute. We will also be developing our programs for next year, planning orientation, advising transfer students in July, and filling in a bit with career services over the summer. Not to mention Project Runway will begin filming here next week so everything will be crazy.

Graduation was huge. It was at Madison Square Garden and was pack. I was the bouncer placed outside the VIP lounge. Earlier this year I served on a committee that reviewed the submissions from Parsons student nominees for commencement speaker. Each year the New School selects one or two students to address the graduating class at commencement. The New School is currently comprised of eight different colleges. It was exciting because one of our Parsons nominees (along with a Drama College nominee) were chosen as the student speakers this year.

Wednesday we had a smaller commencement for the graduating BFA Fashion Design Students. After commencement our new Dean of the Fashion Design Department treated the administration to dinner at Jack's. Jack's is the little restaurant in the Garment District that I must pass every day but never had been to before. It looks like a hole in the wall from the outside but was actually very nice. They serve tapas dishes.

After dinner we all headed to Saks Fifth Avenue (no not for shopping). Our seniors who were featured in the Senior Show were featured at Saks that evening. The top ranking students had their garments on display in the windows of Saks. Our other high achieving seniors had their garments displayed in the second floor lobby near the Ralph Lauren Black Label, which is where we had the reception. It was very nice and the way shopping should really be: walking around, looking at beautiful clothes, enjoying wine and other refreshments. :)

Thursday night was a real treat. Esther and I went to an event at the Paley Center for Media on the Music of Kay Swift and George Gershwin. The program featured radio, television, and film clips featuring their work. This included clips from two of my all time favorite movies, An American in Paris (which is going to be coming to Broadway next season!) and Funny Face. But the best part of the evening was that it included live performances. The performers included Klea Blackhurst, Jimmy Ray Bennett, and the divine Christine Ebersole (whom Esther and I saw last season in Grey Gardens, for which she won her second TONY). After the Paley Center we had dinner at Soba Nippon which is this great Japanese restaurant next door to the Center.

This weekend was very low key which was great. I slept in, cleaned, and read for pleasure which was fantastic. On Sunday I participated in the AIDS walk in Central Park. Our team has raised just under $9,000, although they have only calculated on-line donations. None of the cash or checks we brought the day of have been added to the tally yet. It was a beautiful, if crowded day in Central Park. Speakers included Kenneth Cole and Sara Ramirez among others. Over 7,000,000 dollars was raised at the event which breaks the record for this 23 year annual event.

Yesterday was my last day of my Intro to Judaism class. I will really miss this class. I have been in this course since October so we have all really bonded in the course. I will still see some of my fellow classmates. I have made several good friends in that class and summer plans are already in order for BBQs, Shabbat Dinners, and future outings around town. The second half of the class last night we all had an opportunity to share what we have got out of the course and for those of us who entered thinking about conversion it was an opportunity to share where we were in the process.

I am excited to share with all of you that my Rabbi feels I am ready to officially enter the Jewish Faith. I am in the process of writing my statement for the Beit Din. When you convert to Judaism the Beit Din is the body that oversees the conversion. It is made up of three Jewish people (if you are converting to the Orthodox branch they would have to be men but I am not) in my case it will be made up of three rabbis. They will review my statement and ask me questions. If they approve me as a candidate for conversion I will then go to the Mikva where I will be "reborn". I am going to review my statement with my Rabbi, Esther (not my sister but an actual Rabbi named Esther) next month and then edit it. We will probably have the actual conversion in Mid-July. I am really excited because Rabbi Brent (who taught my class) has agreed to be part of my Beit Din.

I know that some of you have asked me for resources to help give you a basis for Judaism. I will post those in the future so keep reading the blog if you are interested in that.