Shabbos #3

So this Shabbos was the first "out" Shabbos of the year. That means that you don't have to be in school for Shabbos, you can go anywhere you please. In fact, it's encouraged that you do figure out your own Shabbos plans, either at someones house you know, or go with a friend to someone they know. Now, the school will let you stay in the dorm if you want to, but you'll have to make your own Shabbos. Also, if you have no place to go, the school will try to set you up somewhere. I'm considering asking the school to set my up in neighborhoods I'm interested in visiting, but that's definitely a plan for later in the year, as my Mom gave me a whole list of friends and relatives in Israel, many whom I don't know, or remember.
So I stated my Shabbos plans pretty early in the week, all things considered. I was still having major phone problems (A story that deserves a post of it's own) so I couldn't make calls all the time, and I sometimes lost my messages. But I did try to organize everything before the last minute.
I started by calling Rachel M., only to discover that she wasn't going to be home for the weekend. She offered me her house, but I'd really prefer to avoid having to make my own Shabbos for now, as I don't even know where to buy everything I need yet, and I don't always have to time to look. Undeterred, I called Miriam Z. Now, here it gets a little more complicated. She said that she'd be happy to have me, but they were hosting something at their house, so they didn't know if meals would be alright. She suggested calling Betsy M., a friends of Mom's who I didn't remember at all, but who only lived a block over from Miriam Z. in Beit Shemesh. I was a little nervous, not only because I was going to stay at someones house who I didn't really know (which was a little nerve-wracking) but that it was getting a little complicated for my first week out of schoool. So when I called Betsy M., I asked her if I could perhaps just stay with her, to make life a little less hectic on my end. She seemed totally enthusiastic about the idea, which was really encouraging. So I started asking around for advice on how to get there, and as I was talking to friends, I found out that Eliana L. was having some problems finding a place to stay. So I called Betsy M. and asked if it was OK for Eliana L. to come with me. She said sure, totally fine.
For those of you who know me, this all happened before Friday morning, which is pretty good for my typical procrastinator-esque approach to life. I hung out with some friends Friday night, and helped Abby put zours into a cake for her roommate - entertaining, colorful and tasty. Which meant I headed to bed pretty late, so Firday morning I woke up on the late side. Daniella -my roommate - had already left the room while my suitemates were still kinda getting up. So I got up, and started picking out outfits, shoes, and toiletries for the trip. I called Betsy M. for directions on how to get to her, and wrote them down in my organizer. (which I'm using a lot, actually. On a side note, I love it. I bought it at some random little store, and it tells me the Jewish date as as well as the secular one, and it list the Parshat Ha'Shavuah and lighting times on every Saturday.) Eliana L. and I decided to meet in the lobby at around 2:30 to catch a cab to the central bus station and take this shuttle/taxi to Beit Shemesh.
We take the cab over the bus station and decide to wander up the street to look for some sort of Shabbos gift to bring. I was in favor of flowers, but we couldn't find any in the immediate vicinity, and we were a little antsy about leaving, so we bought almonds, pistachios and this parve cake for our gifts, then hopped on the shuttle leaving to Beit Shemesh.
(to be continued...Selichot start in 10 minutes.)