Friday June 22 Shabbat and VIP night out

Early this afternoon I walked around to find some flowers for Shabbat. Whenever I can, I bring something as a gift to the host for shabbat dinner. Flowers are always a safe bet because you don't have to worry about anything being properly kosher.

I finally had a free Friday night so I could celebrate shabbat. The Chabad I went to was on Balaclava road in Caulfield, the area where Joel lives. I came to Shabbat dinner alone but knew that my friend Jeremie was going to be there. It was fabulous to see him because it had been a while! He introduced me to some people, and the rest of the people I met throughout the night just through casual conversation. I love that feeling of walking into a room full of Shabbat tradition – wine, challot, kippot, Hebrew being spoken, candles lit, etc. Everyone was very friendly and the Rabbi even had myself and another guest introduce ourselves to the group. There were about 35 of us and I enjoyed it immensely. I was surprised to see that most of the people were Israeli! So far, I have been to international Chabad houses in Thailand, Germany and Australia!

Afterwards I went back into the city to meet my friend from work, Scott, at Club 23 in Crown Casino. His very close friend works there and got us free drinks all night and entrance to the club. I thought we would be at some small bar on the main levels of the casino (because he said he had a connection at the casino), but to my surprise, Scott treated me to a VIP night out! I really appreciated him taking me out for some farewell drinks- he is truly a class act guy and has wonderful stories from having lived all over the world (Scotland, Canada, etc) and has a brilliant outlook on life- plus a beautiful onesie at home I have heard so much about! Keep killin' it my friend.