I was inches away from getting into a car accident on the highway last weekend. It would've been my fault too (though that didn't stop my potty mouth from working overtime). It's just that at the moment said accident was about to occur, I had been mesmerized by the moon. It was floating above this building that was decked out in Christmas lights and for that split second everything else went blank. It was truly a sight for sore eyes.

I've always been fascinated, nay obsessed, by the moon. When I was a kid, I thought that I had a rare, mysterious bond with it. I'd constantly stare out our car window and watch it as it followed me home. How special I felt! Of all the people in the world, the moon decided to follow ME. When we'd get home, I'd go up on the roof and just lay down staring at the illuminated sky. This was before big lights, before we left Cairo and lived in a neighborhood that suffered from frequent blackouts. It made for lovely evenings.

My grandmother used to do volunteer work for the Red Crescent. I used to go with her often. When we left Cairo she was never on my mind as much as when the crescent appeared in the sky.

When I moved out of my house, one of the things I used to LOVE to do every month was sleep with the curtains wide open during the full moon. I loved to moonbathe and my window was optimally placed to catch moon rays.

This is one of my absolute favorite pictures:



I took it during one of my trips to the Dominican Republic. My friends and I had just finished eating dinner and when I looked up at the sky and saw that sight, I spent the next 30 minutes snapping away. I couldn't get enough of it.

My obsession with the moon is surpassed only by my obsession with Christmas in New York. Is there any other city that serves as a perfect backdrop for this season? I hate not being in New York City during Christmas time. When I moved to Cairo for college, my homesickness grew ten-fold once December hit. Yes, I know it gets crowded and it's hell to try to get anywhere in Midtown. Yes, I know that Christmas has become commercial. But I am at my jolliest during Christmas time. Nothing makes me happier than wrapping presents. As a matter of fact, one year I went to Macy's to try to get a job as a wrapper. It would've paid shit wages, but I wasn't doing it for the money. I just wanted to wrap. I decided against it when I saw who would be my fellow wrappers. Talk about a bunch of cranky shitheads. No way was I going to let them kill my Christmas spirit. Instead, I went around my neighborhood and offered my services. Didn't get many presents to wrap though. That's what you get for living in a Jewish neighborhood. Sigh.