May you all get your joy and festival on tonight, whether or not you’re Jewish!

Actually, the Christian folk are in the countdown to Easter, so maybe more like: a meaningful weekend to you guys.

Here, Purim is sooooo long. I’m so happy. Some people are Pesach Jews or High Holy Day Jews. Me, I’m a Purim Jew. (I’m also a Yom K Jew, since after all Yom Kippurm, yom k’Purim–Yom Kippur is a day like Purim.) Because Purim falls on Shabbat and Jerusalem is a walled city of a certain type, Purim is 3 days here. So the Megillah reading is tonight and tomorrow, the Purim-specific prayers are on Shabbos, and the seudah (big feast) and mishloach manot (um, giving people yummy goodie bag treats) is Sunday. The Purim that never ends. You realize how many opportunities that is to dress like an idiot? How many potential costume changes? So exciting.

Tonight is the night I’m going for broke in terms of costuming and makeup–not enough energy to do that for 3 1/2 days solid, so will start tonight on mach 11 and probably get lower key as the weekend moves on. [LATER EDIT: and here’s a photo of the carnage, the next day:]

I was on Shenkin Street in Tel Aviv the other day–it’s kind of the Melrose or Haight street of TA, but decidedly queer and very silly and fun. Maybe like Lower Broadway was, once, back in the day, or parts of like 4th or 8th Sts? Dunno. Anyway, there, they understand how to do Purim. Tiny poufy skirts made of stupid sparkley materials and crazy getups with, like, feathers all over them. Purim + drag = good. It was like the part of my soul that dictates re: fashion had just found its birth parents. San Francisco, except on a Jewish calender. Hooray.

And on that note, time to do some more dishes. Play hard and be careful tonight, kids!