John Carrier

Just over a year ago I decided I wanted to become a rabbi, and I began the process of applying to rabbinical schools.  A couple of months ago I announced that I was accepted by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University in Los Angeles to begin studying to become a rabbi this autumn.  Today I’m happy to announce that I have been accepted to the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York as well.

On one hand I couldn’t be happier about this.  I’ve been accepted by two of the finest schools in the world for Torah study.  Being accepted to one changed my life; being accepted to both is a dream come true.

On the other hand I now have to make one of the most difficult decisions I have ever faced.  I love New York.  I love Los Angeles.  Ziegler is breaking new ground in the training of future leaders of the Jewish community.  JTS, over the las 120 years, has trained the finest rabbis in the Conservative Movement, including most of the rabbis at Ziegler.  I have a lot of friends in New York.  I can run outside year-round in Los Angeles.

I have about a month to decide where I want to go to school — and relocate my family — this fall.  During that time I’ll be consulting a lot of rabbis, doing some serious thinking and serious talking with my wife, friends, and family, and more than a little praying.  I welcome any comments, questions or suggestions any of you have.

But for the moment I’m going to enjoy the fact that through a lot of hard work over the last year and with the help of many, many kind and generous people, I have made a dream come true.

I just joined Team In Training (TNT) to raise funds and awareness for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  While my preferred endurance event is the marathon, this time I chose to participate in America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride, a one-day, 100-mile bicycle ride on the shores of Lake Tahoe in Nevada.  The event takes place on June 7, 2009, and I’ve committed to raise $4,200 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for the honor of participating and helping this great cause.

Please consider making a donation today to help me fight blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.  Your donation is 100% tax deductible, and 73 cents of every dollar goes straight to cancer-fighting research and direct assistance and support for families struggling with these diseases, while the rest helps us promote endurance events around the world to raise awareness of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the important work they do.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for your support.

 By the way, does anyone know where I can get a decent pre-owned bicycle?

I have not written much, if anything, on this blog about the child that my wife and I are expecting. Maybe it’s because this is too much of a cat blog already, and maybe it’s out of fear of compromising the little darling’s privacy online before she’s even born. In any case I am incredibly excited and happy about it, so I thought I should finally share.

She’s definitely a Carrier: She’s big, she’s healthy, she has a good head of hair, and she’s late.  The ultrasound technician estimated that she weighs 9 lbs., give or take a pound.  My two sons, now 11 and 13, were 9-10 lbs. each and both born with a full head of hair.  The oldest came about 2 weeks after his due date.  Their father is late for absolutely everything.  And this new baby is definitely a girl; the technician was as certain as one can be from an unltrasound image.

We don’t know when she’s coming.  My money (or at least $3 of it) is on Wednesday.  I hesitate to post the final date and stats on this blog, as date and place of birth are the kind of information now used to verify people’s identity when logging on to one’s bank account.

What do you think of the privacy issues presented by sharing an event like this?  The last thing I want is for someone to a) rob my house while she’s being born or b) stealing the baby’s identity 20 years from now based on our birth announcement being dug out of the Google cache.  Comments?