I'm jealous again

Keith spent time in the Old City today.
I loved that place...
If it's not already on your list of places to go in life, add it.
And have some shawarma with extra pickles for me!

Thoughts on Egypt

I haven't really blogged about this, so here goes.
I never wanted to go to Egypt. A year and a half ago, when we started planning this production, I didn't want to go. I spent weeks, no - months, praying that God would change my heart. My assumption was that I didn't want to go because I was scared of it. After some serious soul searching, I came to terms with the fact that what I really wanted was to be pregnant. And I felt called to be - now. And I was tired of putting my life on hold for my job, no matter how cool of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity awaited. It was a matter of pride to comes to terms with that. But once I did, I have never felt more relieved and satisfied in my identity. God even blessed me with a pregnancy pretty close to "my" timeline. I have never had any regrets about not hauling a 60lb backpack through the desert for 20 hour days.

Until today.

Keith called this morning from the top of Mount Sinai. I could be there with him. But I'm at home, knocked up. I say it so casually because my twinge of jealousy, of what could have been, is short lived. Sitting at my desk sorting receipts, I am doing the most important job of my life - I'm a mother.

And another thing

A wall isn't security, either.

Lessons from Israel v.2

Required reading for today's lesson: Genesis 16, 21:8 -21.

Bottom line?
Jews are from Isaac. Muslims are from Ishmael.
They both come from Abraham.

The conflict over land between Israel and Palestine fascinates me only slightly less than it pains me. Isn't there enough on this planet for everyone? Can't we all get along? How'd it all start? Will it ever end?

I'm embarrassed to say I never paid attention to Ishmael before. And I'm much, MUCH more Western than I'd like to admit.

If you had asked me a month ago to do word association for "Ishmael", I would have said Moby Dick.
And if you had said "Ishmael" and "Bible", I would have said "Moby Dick."
And if you had said "Ishmael, Abraham's other son", I would have said, "what?"

Isn't it fascinating that God gave two sons to Abraham. Gave them both to Abraham through unlikely sources. Brought them both to death's doorstop. Saved them both by providing for their needs. Promised them both a long lineage of favor.

Is the tension in Israel really part of His plan all along? How are we to make sense of that? I'm doing some reading up on that. I'll keep you posted.

Lessons from Israel v.1

Kids play in a universal language.


I don't speak Arabic. They don't speak much English.


But the kisses I received as we left these angels let me know we're friends now.


And you thought I wanted brown babies BEFORE...

we're home

I'm still not quite sure what to say about Israel. Great shoot, great people, great trip. I understand the conflict, but I sure can't make sense of it. It's kind of like if the US owned Mexico, and was 100x more aggressive about protecting the border. Even then, I can't make sense of it. I don't think we're meant to understand hate. Still too jet-lagged to get much deeper...

a dream slipping through my fingers

I have always wanted to have someone waiting for me at the airport holding a sign with my name on it. It's a sincere fantasy. I always scan the people at the bottom of the escalator, thinking someone might have my name, or close to it, so I can pretend. I imagine following the sign-holder to my limo and heading into Manhattan.

So here's my big news...
It's going to happen!
Here's the bad news...
I won't be there to see it.

We arrive in Israel on Sunday at 3pm.
We will walk outside to the bus.

My client arrives on Monday at 3am.
HE gets to see the dude holding the "Sara Hogan" sign at the bottom of the escalator.

Here's my dilema -- do I ask the client to take a picture because I want it soooooo bad!?

ignorance is bliss

From my growing list of "things you should know when planning a shoot in Israel, learned the hard way":

Your Israeli guide and your Israeli bus driver are not welcome in Arab neighborhoods.
That whole Israeli/Arab thing is really a pretty big deal.
When someone says, "only Arabs live there", they aren't being stereotypical or racist. It's fact.
Money changes everything.
Relationship is more important than honesty to many people. Cover your buns.
There are many more Christians than you think living in Israel.
Israelis have the best pronunciation of "Sara" I've heard.
The government needs to know where you'll be always. Saying "in the wilderness" doesn't count.
They don't have cows.
Their sheep have "fat tails."
A six hour time difference is a pretty big deal, unless you have months to plan.

There will be more, I'm sure...

I don't mind telling you

I'm a gazillion times more excited about going to Israel now that Keith is going.
Sometimes I think I don't realize how scared I am about stuff until I stop being scared.
I'm not scared of Israel anymore.
And now I need to go burn a bra or something to make sure I still resemble a feminist in the areas that matter.

And what are you ticked about?

Ever thought about what it would be like to live in a country with a compulsory army? I never did until I saw girls younger than me holding oozies when I was in Israel. The thought of me defending our country is only slightly more unsettling than the thought of YOU doing it.

So I'm working with our buddy, Boaz, to arrange for ground transportation, interpretation, and protection in Israel again the end of this month. Boaz just got called up for his reserve. Mandatory month-long leave. He's a civilian! Can you imagine? Can you even imagine?

I'm trying to plan a shoot here.
I'm just putting it out there that a 6 hour time difference can really suck.

And in other news, Christmas is only 3 months from today.
I'd be remiss not to mention it.