Baby You Can Drive My Car

I'm fighting an awful case of jet lag since I got back to the Big Apple on Thursday afternoon. I landed at ten to 3:00 p.m. and didn't get my luggage until 5:00 p.m.! Majority of the passengers on my flight were fuming that we were waiting for the luggage to be loaded onto the belt, but I took it all in stride. I didn't have a connecting flight, or anyone waiting to pick me up outside of JFK, so I just waited for my suitcase to come shooting out. When my duffel came out, I zoomed through customs and raced the other international arriving passengers to the taxi stand. Fortunately for me, there were tons of gypsy cabs trying to pick up passengers, and since Buggy's ski jacket was warm but I could have certainly been warmer, I decided to take one of the Town Car drivers up on his $50 offer. I know, I know, I was robbed for that price but it was worth it. The line for the taxi stand was out of control, and this way I was in a warm car and off to Queens in no time.

The traffic on the Van Wyck Expressway was stop and go, so we ended up taking the service road all the way to Main Street. I was lugging my duffel up the front steps of my parents house by 5:30 p.m. as my Mom laughed while watching me from the front door, and boy was I happy to see the folks! I think that's when I got hyper cause I immediately pulled out my laptop and shot Buggy an e-mail, gave my Mom and Dad the presents I brought them from Israel (my Dad loved the Southern Review tote bag and my Mom thought the Roman Glass earings were cool). At which point, The Dude came back from school and gave me a rundown of his errands for the evening. I quickly unpacked all the stuff that needed to be cleaned and hitched a ride with him to Main Street, where I gave in about half of my wardrobe. After the cleaners, we went to Wasserman's to get my brother food for Shabbos and then drove over to my Grandmother's so I could give her a hug and the pin I bought her in Tel Aviv. She was thrilled with the pin and gave me a big squeeze. I got back to the house and managed to keep myself up through half of Grey's Anatomy. I fell asleep midway through the new episode and by the time I woke up the credits were rolling. I managed to put myself to bed at 10:15 p.m.

Friday was a really relaxing day, I don't really remember what I did but it involved some laundry, vacuming as my Dad supervised (that was a pleasant experience) and helping Mom get ready for Shabbos. It managed to make it past dinner until 8:30 before I went upstairs and passed out. Unfortunately, that meant that I was up and raring to go at 3:30 a.m. and I laid in bed until around 5:00 just thinking. For a few minutes, I felt as if living in Israel had never even happened to me. It was a scary thought but then I thought a bit clearer and the past five months came flooding back. I mean, come on, how could I have thought up shot gunning with Bret Lott?

Shabbos was quiet and relaxing, just the family for lunch. I thought if I didn't go to sleep in the afternoon that I would beat this jet lag so I stayed up. Initially, I was going to go into the City on Saturday night to hang out with Cousin Neil and Marns and folks but Cousin Neil had to go to work (the things the Attorney General's office do to people, work on a Sat night is obsurd!!) and Marns was going to the movies with Rachel and Elana. So, I decided to stay home and catch up on some Must See TV. With three episodes of Heroes and two episodes of Friday Night Lights under my belt, I went to bed thoroughly exhausted.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning and could not get back to bed! The amount of errands on my list today were just so huge that I was hyped up with them all. First, Mom and I went into the City to do some shopping. While riding the F train in, there were 3 homeless people panhandling for money. Welcome back to New York! The stench of stale urine hit me as I descended into the bowels of this city and I felt it following me throughout the day! We got back to Queens by mid-afternoon and then it was off to food shop at Supersol and pick my Grandmother up for a walk around the neighborhood before the snow comes in. I hope it holds out for a few more days cause tomorrow I have an even busier day than today! With an eye Dr.'s appointment and a highlight appointment in Soho, I don't want the dampness to ruin anything Rob is going to do with my auburn locks.

But, the best part of today was the time I spent behind the wheel of my Toyota Corolla. Boy, it is just so nice to drive again. That's what I miss most about New York when I'm in Tel Aviv, being able to get behind the wheel and go wherever and whenever I want. Hmmm, I think I might invest in a vehicle for next year, it would just make me sooo happy!

It's 7:30 p.m. in New York, 2:30 a.m. in Israel, and all I want to do right now is crawl into bed. I'm going to take my book though, and my phone, and force my friends to keep me up until at least 10:00 p.m. tonight! I hope all is well with my friends back in Israel!

Literature of the day is About Alice an autobiography by Calvin Trillin about life with his (now deceased) wife. It is sad and funny at the same time, and also a wonderful story about two people who truly loved each other and who were committed to one another, and how heartbreaking it is for Calvin to be dealing with the loss of the love of his life.

Bad, Bad Chocolate

First of all, in almost 13 hours I should be on a plane heading back to the good ol' USA. I am really really looking forward to the vacation, I certainly need it. Today was a very busy day, I ended up doing all the last minute things you do before you go away. I did my laundry so I have clean underwear on my trip, I cleaned the apartment so that when I return everything will smell nice, Gayle came over and helped me pack so I didn't take anything unnecessary, I took out travel insurance from my health care provider just in case g-d forbid I need it and I made the phone calls to everyone I needed to say goodbye to. Like I said, necessary and busy.

Yesterday, I had a Dr.'s appointment in the afternoon and then met Jeff and Gayle for farewell coffee at the Aroma on Gordon Street. It was nice to schmooze and catch up, its been a while since I've gotten together with either of them. After that, I came home and made dinner for Buggy. I made an anti-pasta of grilled vegetables with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, minced garlic and black pepper, my Mother's famous macaroni and meat with chopped meat, onion, pasta noodles and marinara sauce, and a broccoli kugel. Now, Buggy and I are both watching our weight, and I had found this dark chocolate in the healthy corner of Supersol. The Belgian chocolate (Cavalier brand) said it has no sugar added, and I didn't really read the rest of the package when I brought it back to the apartment. We each had one serving (about 4 squares) for dessert. Not even a half an hour later, we were both feeling terribly nausiated and headachy. I went to sleep feeling like I was going to throw up, and Buggy complained of stomach issues. We both assumed that it was all the vegetables in the anti-pasta, since a lot of high fibre vegetables can do that to you.

So tonight, after I cleared out my fridge of everything perishable and gave some stuff away to Gayle, I sat down to dinner. For dessert, I decided to finish the chocolate bar from last night. This time, I helped myself to 8 squares. Nearly 15 minutes later, I felt awful again. This time, I was on the phone with my friend Shulamit who is a certified nutritionist. I told her what I had eaten and she suggested that I look to see if there was any sweetner in the chocolate that could have made me feel this way. I went to my fridge and looked at the bar and lo and behold, the back of the bar said the following:

Excessive consumption can have a laxative effect.

What, you may ask, do they consider excessive? Apparently, more than 4 squares.

So, I've been throwing up for the past hour. I'm taking a hydration break and then getting into the shower. I hope I feel okay when I get up tomorrow morning, otherwise, it's going to be a lousy plane ride.

Oh, and the worst part of this all is that the chocolate is Dairy and not Parve as I had initially thought. So, I basically served both of us treif and laxative chocolates.

I hope Buggy will forgive me.

OK, am off to the shower. Hopefully, the next time I blog I'll be in New York City!

Woohoo!

The Amazing Adventures of Peanut & Chumus Boy

I should be writing a column about dating right now, but I am ashamed that I haven't updated this blog in almost a week! So, I'm shunning my responsibilities for a few minutes to TCB (take care of business).

Schools Out for winter break!! I am so excited, I can't even express how happy I am for this time off. Its been a grueling few months of writing and working, and I'm so looking forward to Thursday when I get on that airplane and head on back West to New York City! My list of things to do keeps growing and growing, and I just can't wait to tackle each action item! Each will be interspersed, obviously, with hang outs with friends and family.

After class on Wednesday evening, I treated myself with a late night gab fest with friends on the East Coast. I spent Thursday hanging out with Lana, whose last final in medical school was a few hours earlier. We went to Sheinken Street, which is the "SoHo" of Tel Aviv (not really, but that's what the locals claim) to do some shopping for her. Ari was working at Orna and Ella's, so we popped in to say hello and goodbye, before heading back to our neck of the woods. I got home and made Buggy a carrot cake for Shabbos lunch; since I was going to be spending the weekend in Jerusalem, I figured I should try and make some sort of contribution.

Friday afternoon was quite an experience. I ended up taking a cab to Jerusalem, rather than the bus, because I packed for a number of days and had all of my valuables with me (i.e. laptop, passport, jewelry, etc.). With Itai in Rome, I didn't want to leave anything too important in an empty apartment. So, I called the cab to pick me up with more than 2 hours before Shabbos comes in in Jerusalem. Rather than telling the driver to take 443, I was okay with him driving up Highway 1, eventhough the chances for traffic were much greater. I'm not necessarily afraid of route 443, but I prefer Highway 1. All was going great, Avi was telling me about his career as a professional soccer player before he blew out his knee, and I was enjoying the gorgeous view outside of my window. Next thing I know, we are broken down on the side of the highway. Fortunately, we were broken down on the side of an extremely well traveled highway, and both of our cell phones were working. Avi called one of his friends to come to his rescue, and I decided to get out of the cab and sit on the guardrails, watching the traffic wiz by. As the time started ticking away, a couple of taxis stopped and Avi waved them away. Now, I know that he had a friend coming (who, apparently, was always 5 minutes away) but I don't like to play around with Shabbos and I was pissed that he waved two cabs away. I finally told him that the next cab that stops is the one I'm getting into, friend or no friend. It was already 3:15 p.m. and I was outside of Lod, which was about 45 minutes away. I called El Jeffe to see if he knew anyone driving to Jerusalem who could pick up a stranded motorist, but he didn't know of anyone. So, I waiting and finally after 30 5 minutes away the new cab driver showed up and did 120 miles per hour on Highway 1. I walked into the house at 4:10 p.m., giving me a total of 12 minutes to change for shul. Fortunately, Buggy had been warned so all was prepared for me to zip in and get dressed.

Shabbos was very nice and relaxing, the weather was cold but decent. I did a lot of sleeping and started a really good book! By the time Shabbos was out, I had slept more than 15 hours all weekend and was raring to go. But, the weather was extremely uncooperative! It was so stormy last night that Buggy and I decided to stay in and just watch a video. We were in the kitchen getting a bite to eat before starting the movie when we heard cries for help - in English! At first, I didn't want to go check it out, being the New Yorker that I am. I figured it was simply a ploy for someone who wanted us to open the door so he could break into the house easier. But, Buggy is a much better person than I, so we decided to investigate. Sure enough, in the building next door to Buggy's house, a young Australian had locked himself out on his mirpeset (balcony). The wind was howling, pushing the sheets of rain right up against the wall like two lovers locked into an embrace. And there was the poor guy, not dressed for the rain, freezing and drenched and stuck on the balcony. He left his cell phone, with the keys and the phone number for his landlord, inside the apartment as well. So, Buggy and I called the fire department, and then Buggy yelled to the guy to let him know what was going on. The fire department agreed to come and help him but they said they would charge him a fee to break down the doors. The man, now blue with hypothermia, agreed since there was no other choice.

The fire department came a few minutes later and Buggy left me to man the fort while he acted as translator between Aussie and Israeli firefighters. Suddenly, the firefighters and Buggy climbed the ladder up to the roof and tried to come up with alternate ways to save the stranded Aussie. With the wind, it was too dangerous to throw down a rope ladder, so they had no other choice than to break down the door. Towards the end of the negotiations, a small crowd appeared in Buggy's backyard, as two more Aussies (who apparently were friends with the stranded man and neighbors), joined Buggy, and the Captain of the fire brigade in the yard. Aussie #2 started taking pictures, so I opened the back door and asked him if he was press. He smiled and said no.

Loser tourists!

My advice is the next time you wanna go smoke a joint on the back porch during a torrential downpour, don't be an idiot and forget your sweatshirt, keys and cell phone inside.

Buggy returned to a heroes welcome and we watched rerun episodes of Life with Brian, Heroes and Men in Trees.

And that's the most excitement I've had in one weekend in a really long time!! I'm still in Jerusalem today, have some stuff to do and am hoping to make it over to the Kotel before the night is out. I might be coming back on Wednesday to view a documentary of The Lamed Hey at The Begin Center. Other than that, I have loads of errands, packing and a Dr.'s appointment before my early flight on Thursday morning.

The countdown has begun!!! Four Days to go!!

Literature of the day is The Vine of Desire by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. This is an excellent book with a plot that is complex and a poetic and sophisticated language style.

24: Breaking Point

I hope The Dude had the forsight to TIVO the premier of 24 last night. I forgot to ask him to do that when we were on the phone yesterday and now I'm really hoping he did it anyway! I'm going to be missing the first two episodes, but will be in the States for the third episode, and I want to make sure I've watched the first two before getting into the show. Last we saw Jack Bauer, he was heading on a barge to China! I heard the first 5 minutes of the show were absolutely incredible so if you watched it, drop me a line and let me know what you thought (but no spoilers please!

Once again, I'm stuck in my apartment waiting for Yehuda to come and fix the new leak. I'm really starting to get tired of all the problems in this apartment. People come over and ooh and aah over my apartment but they wouldn't be so complimentary if they had to wait at least once a week for the contractor to fix yet another problem. The person who moves in here after I leave will be so lucky, all the kinks will be worked out for that tenant!

I'm halfway through my final paper for class tomorrow and just need to wrap up some stray thoughts. It's not an easy paper to write as the concept of an American Jewish Writer is truly complex. I also have to type up and send to Tamara a few key points from one of the essays we had to read this semester. Since I missed the last class, Tamara lent me her copy of the essay and while I photocopied it, I didn't have a chance to return it to her before tomorrow. Good thing I'm a proficient typer, at least I won't be spending hours at the computer uploading the document for her.

So, I woke up this morning with heartburn, which I haven't had (fortunately) for nearly 3 years! Heartburn has become my breaking point, and I spent two hours this morning surrounded by my Weight Watchers materials, a calculator, my WW calculator and half of the contents of my refrigerator. A couple of years ago, I joined WW and lost 20 pounds. While I actually attended weekly meetings, one of my good friends also joined the program but she was doing it online, and together we kept each other motivated. We shared recipes, discussed meal ideas, exercise points and helped each other through the ups (there were many) and celebrated the downs (which were also terrific!). A few weeks ago, she had a baby, and now she is back on the program too!

The first thing I did today was call my trainer and schedule another appointment with him (Thursday afternoon) and asked him to help me figure out how to read the nutrition labels on food packaging. The problem isn't the Hebrew (I did need him to tell me what word meant "dietary fiber") but that everything is in grams as opposed to cups/ounces or spoons. For example, my loaf of pumpernickle bread is 750 grams total. The nutrition label is per 100 grams but since I've already consumed more than half of the loaf, I have no idea how many pieces equals 100 grams. Yehuda helped me figure out that 100 grams is roughly 2 slices of bread. I was on my own though when it was time to convert my diet Hummus from grams to cups/tablespoons. Fortunately, I was able to figure out that 50 grams was 3 1/2 tablespoons and at that amount it was extremely reasonable for me to calculate the points.

Once I had points for half of my fridge, I was able to pull together meal ideas for the week. Today is already planned and tomorrow is a bit up in the air. Since I have class, I need to make and bring stuff that won't spoil in my bag but will also keep me going during the day. We're also having a party (I'm making cold sesame noodles with peanut sauce) so I think I'm going to pack a meat sandwich (which low-fat smoked turkey breast) so I won't be tempted to eat any of the other food and junk at the party. My next challenge is figuring out how to eat out at restaurants while on the WW program. When I went on WW a few years ago, I swore off restaurants which helped tremendously. That's not to say that I didn't go from time to time out to eat, I did, but it was very rare. Lately, I've been going out to eat at least 2-3 times a week! That definitely has to come to an end, and soon! I'm going to Jerusalem after class tomorrow so I'm going to suggest sushi for dinner. It's very filling and low in points, so I can eat enough to keep me satisfied and not feel like I'm going off the program.

Anyway, I have to get moving on my paper, on typing up Tamara's essay and cooking for the party. Literature of the day is Eric by Doris Lund, a true story about a boy who with cancer told from his Mother's perspective. A very stirring and emotional novel, and a must read!

7 Viles of Blood and Elvis

Before I write about my experience today with Israel's medical labs and nurses station, I have to write about what happened after I blogged last night. Basically, this apartment is The Money Pit. Do you remember that movie from the late 80's? I do because I spent an entire winter break when I was in elementary school watching that movie. It was one of the few my Dad had on VHS and I still can practically repeat what happens in each scene of the film. I couldn't get the image of Tom Hanks, sunken into the floor in the oriental rug, out of my mind last night as I was faced with yet another apartment situation. So, I went in for a luxurious soak in the tub complete with bath bomb and bath salts and was thoroughly relaxed and warm and all ready for bed when I opened the bathroom door to a flood of water and gunk. Not knowing where it came from, I called Itai to come over to bear witness to the latest problem, and together the three of us (Itai's girlfriend Fiona was over too) tried to determine the water's origin. They left me to clean up the water with the suggestion that the amount of water draining from the tub forced water up and through the pipe in the bathroom that is meant for a washing machine (I don't have one but use that nook to house my bucket and luggage). I went to wash my floor for the second time that evening when Itai called to tell me that his apartment flooded too and that he called his Mother to take care of the problem. Happy that at least I wasn't the only person cleaning up junky water, I went to bed thirsty and not necessarily looking forward to today's experience.



I overslept by an entire hour and jumped out of bed at 8:30 a.m. frantic. The blood labs are only open for a certain amount of time and since the I needed to go to closed at 10:00 a.m., I scrambled. Fortunately, I found a cab right outside of my door and the driver, Nissim, charged me 40 shekel to get to the lab. I should have argued since he totally cheated me (he took a little tour of my neighborhood before getting on the highway literally up the block from my apartment that could have gotten me to the blood lab an extra 15 minutes earlier but he had to justify the amount he was charging me so he went down side streets in the complete opposite direction thinking I didn't know my way around town) but I had no choice since it was rapidly approaching 9:00 a.m. and I had no idea what to expect. Nissim had an Elvis figurine with a Chamsah hanging on his rearview mirror and so I asked him if he was a big fan (he was a huge fan!). He told me a little bit more details about the Elvis shrine at some gas station near Mevasseret Zion. He said that it was a really nice little area dedicated to Aharon and that's when I was told that Elvis was a Jew. Did y'all know that? I had no idea Elvis's Mom was Jewish. Now I really want to go to that gas station to check out the memorabilia they have collected. Maybe I can get there before I leave to come back to the States next week.

Anyway, we get to the blood lab and, like at a take out restaurant, I grabbed a number and waited my turn. When my number was called, I walked in and they asked all the preliminary question.

Am I pregnant? (nope)

Had I fasted for at least 12 hours? (yup, and boy was I parched)

Was I awake for at least three hours? (Umm, no).

Problem!

Apparently, to test for the hormone Prolactin, I needed to be awake for at least 3 hours otherwise the test wouldn't be accurate. Now, the Dr. never told me that, all she told me to do was fast for 12 hours before the blood test. There were also a whole bunch of other things I needed to do around the blood test and basically, if they didn't take the blood today, I would have been in big trouble. I was on the verge of tears, explaining that I couldn't leave today without them taking blood, and the manager took pity on me and said I could wait until 10:30 a.m. and they would still do the test. With an extra hour to kill, I went upstairs to the nurses station to get the flu shot. Of course, I had no idea how to ask for it in Hebrew, but the nurse was able to figure out what I wanted and it was pretty painless. After they asked me if I eat eggs (I do!), the nurse administered the shot and now I can come back to the States already vaccinated!

So, I went back downstairs to the blood lab and waited and watched people come in and out. It's especially interesting watching people running in at the last second and begging to let them take blood for various reasons. The manager came out and took the numbers away and some people had temper tantrums when they were turned away. There were a few babies coming in for blood work and it was heartbreaking hearing their cries through the door. Finally, at exactly 10:30 a.m., I walked into the room and rolled up my sleeve. I handed the woman my paper and she printed out corresponding stickers with bar codes on them to wrap around the vial. When I saw that she had printed out 10 stickers, I got a little concerned. I thought they were just taking 1-2 vials! She put three on the urine sample cup and vial and then proceeded to pull out 7 vials for blood. Now, I'm really not squeemish or anything, but I think 7 is a bit much. I've never given more than 3-4 before except for the time I donated blood at Sloan Kettering (but that's a whole story for another time). Fortunately, this woman knew exactly what she was doing and managed to find my vein and filled up the vials fairly quickly and painlessly. Then she handed me the cup and sent me to the bathrooms, where if there wasn't a picture diagram of what to do, I would not have known what they wanted from me. Instead of just filling up a cup, they also hand you this vial that needs to be stuck through the top of the pee cup. The cup is created with these vials in mind so there is something there to puncture the top of the vial, boy man was it a pain figuring this all out. Once I was done, I walked outside and there was this row of urine samples across from the bathroom. No one was around to watch them or anything, but the vampiress told me to leave it in this window and then I was done. Fortunately, she had opened the window from the other side so I knew I was doing the right thing.

I gladly walked out of there, happy that at least that part was done! The only problem was that I had no idea where I was, and didn't know where I could go to find a cab. So, I just started walking and looking for a bus stop, any bus stop. Fortunately, there was a bus stop a few blocks away and I was able to get on the 21 bus which goes right up Ibn Gvirol street. I got off on Ibn Gvirol and Arlozorov and walked the couple of blocks home, stopping into Supersol to pick up what I need to make the sesame noodles and peanut sauce for our goodbye party on Tuesday.

By the time I got back into my apartment, the adrenaline rush had worn off and I was thoroughly exhausted. I ate a bowl of cereal, hoping that the food would rejuvinate me, but I was still feeling lousy. So, I crawled into bed for a bit and slept for almost 3 hours!

Now I have to get started on my final paper, which is due on Tuesday!

Song of the day is Suspicious Minds by Aharon, the Memphis King!

Mud Masks and Bubble Baths

As the hot water fills up my tub, I decided to take a minute to update the blog. I cleaned the apartment tonight for almost 2 hours straight, as I had to scrub my floor after Friday's dinner got a bit messy, and am looking forward to an evening of pampering. I've got a bath bomb (don't ask) and a mud mask, some India.Arie music and the end of a really lousy book to finish before turning in. I make no excuses for this evenings activities as I truly deserve it.

Fast forward to Thursday, one of the busiest days of the year thusfar. The window guy came at the crack of dawn (8:00 a.m. for me) and literally woke me up. I had half an eye open as he caulked the hole between the window and my wall. Now, we wait for the next big rain storm to see if it's enough. After the window guy came and went, I hit the laundromat to wash all of my bedding and towels and gym gear. When I moved the wash into the dryer, I noticed a dead, big black bug in the washer. I hope to g-d it didn't come from my clothing, cause it was big and furry and nasty looking. After the laundromat, I headed back to the apartment to plan the rest of the day and ended up agreeing to go to lunch with Lana. We went to our usual place and it was a nice break for me, especially since I was to spend the next 12 hours preparing for last night's dinner.

I headed over to Supersol to buy the crucial ingredients for my meal and then I went back to Boris's place for the fruits and vegees. By the time I got everything ready for cooking, it was already 4:00 p.m. and I had only made the chicken and meat loafs! I ended up cooking chicken soup, an apple kugel, marinara gfilta fish, noodles for the chicken soup, steamed string beans, brown rice and peas, white and dark chocolate covered strawberries (these were the hit of the meal!), blondies and a carrot kugel. We were, at that point, only 9 people so I figured I had enough food. Itai managed to convince Vera to come on Friday before Shabbat to clean the apartment, so I went to bed happy with what I had accomplished. The cooking was done and all I needed to do was assemble the salads and set the table.

Friday morning I jumped out of bed and ran out for my last minute errands including changing money (to pay for Vera), picking up my dry cleaning (the table cloth), and buying drinks. Lana called while I was at Tuv Taam and told me she was coming for dinner, so now I was up to 10 and had a vegetarian at my table. I quickly picked up two bunches of asparagus and ran home to cook them and make a cauliflower kugel. By the time Vera came, I had the kugel in the oven and the salads and fruit salad were all assembled and waiting to be dressed. I didn't have enough time to blow dry my hair straight though, as Shabbos somehow crept up on me, so I quickly jumped in the shower and got dressed with 2 minutes to spare.

The meal was a lot of fun! Lana and I were the only Americans and so the apartment quickly filled with conversations in fluent Hebrew. That worked fine for me as I spend most of the time in the kitchen when I entertain. This group didn't drink as much as my usual group does, and we only polished off one bottom of white wine. Oren and El Jeffe showed up for dessert and, since I only have 10 chairs, Lana and I hung out in the kitchen and cleaned up. Somehow though, my floor got absolutely disgusting and I had to fight the urge to get out the sponga and make it look as sparkling as it was when Vera was finished.

For those of you who don't know me that well, picture Monica from Friends in terms of her neurotic clean tendencies. Magnify that a bit, and you've got me. My little sister can attest to that, as I once chased her around my Upper West Side apartment with a coaster so that she wouldn't leave a ring on my wood table. I know, I know - that's pretty anal. That being said, when people hang out for almost 4 hours, I'd say that's a successful evening. Buggy helped out a lot once people left so the clean up went pretty quickly.

I don't know how this happened exactly but somehow, I became the person who doesn't do dishes on Shabbos day. Oh, I do my dishes on Friday night, especially since I need them for Shabbos, but lately I've been leaving the dirty glasses and dishes to do as soon as Shabbos is out. So, tonight, that's exactly what I did as I caught up with Lana and El Jeffe to see how the rest of their weekend went.

That's when I broke one of my new, expensive wine goblets. I was pretty bummed out especially since that really nice glass was surrouded by the cheap wine goblets I got for free from the wine store on Ben Yehuda street. Why couldn't that one break? As I cleaned up the shattered glass on the counter top, I realized that the brand new washing cup my parents bought for me when they were here in October was also broken (the clay cracked) and I had to throw that out too. It's upsetting that these things broke but I'm keeping it all in perspective, at least it didn't break when people were here and no one hurt themselves.

Tomorrow I have to be up bright and early for my blood test and flu shots. I managed to get someone from Maccabi on the phone and I have no idea where these labs are but apparently, they are only open for a few hours in the morning so I have to get up again at the crack of dawn and make my way to get it down. After that, I am going to have to find some nurses station (don't ask, I should know more tomorrow after I experience this) for the flu shot. I want to get it before I come home to the States for a few weeks. I'm really making an effort to stay healthy and have even added a mug of green day each day to help stave off viruses and diseases.

OK, I'm off to have a relaxing soak in the tub. Literature of the evening is The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, one of the greatest American writers who wrote about The Vietnam War.

Shavuah Tov!

PS. Yesterday was Ari Samuel's birthday, Happy Belated Birthday!

Jerusalem Artichokes

I can't believe it's already almost 11:00 p.m. and I haven't updated the blog in a few days. I'm not really sure where to begin so I'll start with my attempt at culinary creativity. Over Shabbat in Efrat, I had Jerusalem Artichokes for the second time in my life. They were so good, they actually taste like potato but without the calories of a potato! So, I decided to go out and try to make Jerusalem Artichokes for myself. On Monday, I went to the Super and found 5 fresh Jerusalem Artichokes and brought them home to make for dinner. Only problem is that I had no idea how to prepare them. So, I decided to consult my boy Emeril, thinking he knows everything. Nothing on the site from Emeril except for some Jerusalem artichoke soup and I wasn't into that. Next, I checked out Epicurious, the only great site for people who are into cooking and new recipes. Strike two. That's when I had the epiphany. If I should treat these suckers like potatos, I can cook them like potatos! I took out my sister's recipe for garlic roasted potatos and prepared the marinade of olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper, cut the Jerusalem artichoke into 1/4 inch pieces and tossed them with the dressing. Then I put them in the oven at 350F/180C for an hour and a half. The ones that were cooked were excellent! The ones that were still crunchy, not so much. I was very proud that I was able to find a recipe that worked with these vegetables (hmmm, can I really call them vegetables if they are a piece of a sunflower? Will have to check out wikpedia for the answer to that).

Yesterday was a really busy day! With one week left until school is out for the semester, things are coming down to the wire. I have a final paper due for my Jewish Arts Seminar class, and I need to write it this weekend. We also had our last official class with Bret Lott and I was really upset that the class is coming to an end. I've learnt so much from him! Plus, he is truly a wonderful teacher who is committed to his students. I have my final meeting with him next Tuesday at 11:30 and I'm a little nervous about it. I don't know what he's going to want to discuss, but I'll be prepared with a list of questions just in case. I also finally saw Borat last night and boy was it raunchy! Although, the bear in the ice cream truck was absolutely hysterical. It was good to just laugh, I've been stressing about cooking for Shabbat and finals so it was nice for a few hours of escape.

Today I had a surprise Midterm in my Jewish Philosophy course. I got 3 out of the 5 questions right, which means that at least I passed the exam. I'm not a fan of surprise exams, especially since I do much better when I've prepared for the exam. What's annoying is that I had all the answers to the questions in my notes, and I pay attention and participate in class, but I don't have any retention for material unless I study in advance. Oh well, I guess I can't complain because at least I passed the exam. Michael Kramer's class afterwards was great too! We spent the entire class on two poems by Emma Lazarus and then he told the real story behind The Statue of Liberty. Folks, what you learned in Social Studies in elementary school was all one big LIE! The Statue wasn't a gift from the French, it wasn't originally intended to symbolize freedom for immigrants, and the poem is not engraved on the statue's platform. I was saddened to hear the truth, quite frankly, but it's interested to hear about how everything really transpired. If I wasn't exhausted, I would tell y'all in these pages the real story behind Lady Liberty but I'm going to save it for someother time.




Meet my friend Jules, I've spoken about her numerous times on the blog. Well, today I walked 20 minutes to the post office on Dizengoff street to pick up the first and only package I've received in this country! Jules sent me the nicest pair of earrings that are just my taste! I was so excited to get a package from a friend that I didn't even mind waiting for 25 minutes in line to pick it up!

When I got home, I called my Aunt Amy to get the recipe for her meatloafs and right now I've got two cooking in the oven. While we were chatting, she told me that he daughter-in-law's twin sister (who happens to live in Jerusalem) just got engaged! Plus, the wedding is going to be here in Israel which means that my Aunt and cousins are coming to town! Which REALLY means that Cousin Neil is coming to Israel and boy do I have a list of movies I want to see. Hopefully, he'll have time to at least go to one flick with me!

Tomorrow is going to be one of those days that don't have enough hours in them. I have to be up early for the window guy who was supposed to come this morning to fix the hole in my wall but asked to postpone until tomorrow. Then, I need to do some laundry because I have no clean towels or jeans. After which, I have to go food shopping so I can finish cooking for Shabbat. I've already done the cinnamon chicken and the two meatloafs, but that still leaves the chicken soup, marinara gfilta fish, cauliflower kugel, chicken cutlets and the carrot kugel and/or cranberry apple crunch (I'm thinking the recipe with the oatmeal topping because that's much healthier. I also have to make the blondies for dessert and I haven't been able to find the right tin at Supersol, which means I have to hit other places to find the right tins for dessert!

Phew, that lists is just exhausting to look at and I'm up for at least another 2 hours as my last meatloaf if cooking in my tiny over. What I wouldn't do for a real, life-sized oven!

Gnight!

Fog and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

I'm entertaining again. Yup, one more time before I pack on up and head back to the States, I will be hosting another Friday night dinner. This time, the meal will all be Israelis with one token American (me). It should be a lot of fun! Chances are, I won't understand half of the conversation, but if they all have a good time with each other then it will be worth it. I'm trying to figure out the menu for Friday night and I decided to start with dessert first. Since strawberries are in season, and some have been absolutely gorgeous with long stems and lush flavors, I'm going to make white and dark chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert. I'll also make a pan of Shulamit's blondies and cut up some fruit that doesn't have any chocolate on it, so it will be a nice balance. I also think, depending on if I can find the right pan, I'm going to make my Aunt Amy's meat loaf, complete with mashed potato topping, a marinara gfilta fish (I have two more left in the freezer), another cauliflower kugel in a pie shell (I have the pie shell) and chicken soup, and two types of chicken bottoms for the main. Coupled with the usual salads to start and I think I have me a nice meal going. Now all I have to do is extend the invites and I'm all set.

Shabbat in Efrat was really relaxing. I didn't leave the house as the rain wasn't even torrential - it was apocolyptic. I've never experienced anything like this really, even that one storm when I was younger and the family was stuck in the old Oldsmobile and my Dad couldn't see through the windshield, was nothing compared to this past weekend on the West Bank. When we left Jerusalem, the rain was coming down hard and steady, but that didn't prepare us for the dense fog we encountered after we emerged from the tunnel. I've never driven through a cloud before and it was surreal, the area around us was just awash in white mist and we joined a caravan of Palestinian cars all flashing their hazzard lights. It made sense, we needed the extra light just to make sure we wouldn't rear end anyone while driving through the fog. I kept expecting a pack of Greyhounds to flank the car and accompany us on our path; these ghost dogs show up whenever the fog comes out. Fortunately, we made it to the house in one piece with 25 minutes to spare! The rain didn't end until 3:30 p.m. this afternoon, and I've been chilling at home all day.

I have a lot of reading to do for class this week, and a couple of revisions I want to get started on before Bret Lott leaves Israel. So, I'm off to try and be productive. I hear it's in the 70's in New York - that's absolutely insane! I know that as soon as I touch down at JFK, the wicked cold weather will just sock the tri-state area and I'll be nice and miserable.

Can't wait!

Joy and Pain

Bad, bad blogger am I! How could I have gone 5 whole days without updating? Sadly, my excuse is quite poor. I've been watching loads and loads of streaming TV off of Your TV Links. Which means, each time I sit down at this computer to do any work, or writing, or blog updating, I get waylaid by my TV programs. I know, I know, you're disappointed. I am disappointed in myself too, I should be much more disciplined.

OK, let's give you the quick rundown on my week, shall we?

Monday, New Year's Day, I spent the entire day in my PJ's, watching streaming TV, leaving the computer screen to walk to either the bathroom or the kitchen. Yup, it's the perfect day to be a couch potato! I also totally bonded with one of my nieces. We did a lot of chatting, or, as much chatting as a 21 month old can handle. It was really cute, we sang Old McDonald's and did a little virtual jumping around (me virtually, her really jumping) and she asked me to bring her home three doggies from Israel. So, at least now I know what to get for one of the kids before I leave here. Hopefully, she won't be disappointed with the presents.


Tuesday was the really big day for me. My second story was workshopped in class and, since Mom workshopped my story on Sunday, I was prepared for the worst. Surprisingly, the critique was very tame. For some reason, the good stuff was glossed over fairly quickly and then they picked a part what didn't work and what still needed to be worked on. Bret gave me some incredibly useful feedback, including areas he would like me to develop much more clearly, and I actually left the class uplifted. In the car to Jerusalem after Michael Kramer's class, Noam and I had a really interesting conversation in terms of the responsibility of an Orthodox Jewish writer to the community. Noam is great and I usually don't discuss class members in the blog, but I have tremendous respect for him. A Yale alumn, he is extremely well travelled and also a very giving individual (he's worked in the clean up after Hurricane Katrina and volunteered in South Africa). Anyway, when Noam talks, I listen.

Buggy picked me and Daniel up at Binyanei Haumah which is basically the Javitz Center of Jerusalem, and we dropped Daniel off near his home in Baka. I kept hearing rave reviews of this one meat restaurant, Joy, and have been hankering to check it out. So, Buggy made us some reservations, and we headed over. It was a painful experience, really, and I was so disappointed. Made me realize that I should listen to my parents much more carefully, they always say to expect the worst and hope for the best. I should have done that, otherwise I wouldn't have been as disappointed. So, we get there on time with our reservation and of course, they don't have a table for us. We finally asked to stop waiting outside in the cold and waited instead inside in the doorway (not much better). They finally sat us at a table for 4 until the table for 2 was ready and then they moved us, right before we were ready to order. Of course, we got the worst table in the house. The little, tiny, two seater in between the kitchen and the back terrace (so that the draft was freezing and eventually they gave up keeping the door closed at all) and the foot traffic out of the kitchen. So, that was a little annoying. We both ordered soups for starters and I got the lentil while Buggy got the onion. The lentil soup was so oversalted that I couldn't eat it. Literally, two spoonfuls and I couldn't choke it down. When they came back to clear the plates, I told the waitress that the soup was too salty and I couldn't eat it. Guess what, they charged me for the soup anyway. You would think, since I told them it wasn't good and I didn't eat it, that they would have been a little bit more interested in customer service and not charge me for what I didn't consume. But fine, moving on. I made the mistake of ordering the entrecote sandwhich, as I had images of Dougie's in my mind. If three tiny slices of beef on top of one tomato and some garlic sauce slapped between a soft bun (the only good part was that the bun was really good, but I didn't want to eat so much bread so I only ate half of the bread) is considered an entrecote sandwhich, and you want some meat with your bread, I wouldn't recommend this order. Plus, the meat was way overdone and I'm a gal who likes my meat well cooked. At this point, I'm freezing, disappointed with the meal and ready to head out. We never order dessert so we just asked for the check, plus, I had to catch the 11:15 bus back to Tel Aviv and it was getting late. They were very quick with the bill but then, to add insult to injury, the hostess came by as we were counting out money for the tip and asked if we could please hurry up because she would like to seat another customer. I'll admit, I was snippy in my response, and told her that we are going as quickly as we could. I thought about contacting the manager to complain but Buggy had a good point, saying that rather than wasting our breath complaining (we weren't asking for a refund), we're just never going back there again.

Amen!

Wednesday was a little tiring as I was up until 2:00 a.m. the night before. I didn't get back to my apartment until way past Midnight and, until I spoke to all the folks at home, checked my e-mails and just unwound, it was really late. I somehow made it to class though, and once again, participated and had an interesting conversation with Professor Harvey about Alive the Son of Awake, written by Ibn Tufayl, one of the most influential Islamic philosophers of the era. Afterwards, it was American Jewish Literature class by Professor Kramer and we spent the day focusing on the poet Emma Lazarus. You might be familiar with her, as she is the one who wrote the poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty. I find it extremely cool that a Jewish poet's writing is at the base of what symbolizes a country of freedom and tolerance. After class, I managed to make the bus and headed home. Wednesday is always really exhausting for me so I was ready to fall into bed but then Lana texted about dinner. So, we headed to my favorite eatery in Tel Aviv, Pastafino, which is a pizza, pasta and salad place literally two blocks from my place. It's pretty good pizza for the kosher establishment and their salads are great, and everything is reasonably priced!

Yesterday was an extremely busy day! I made my way to the gym and got punished by Yehuda for over an hour. I also got there earlier than my training session so I could do cardio. Needless to say, it is not easy moving today. He really concentrated on the lower body with all the squats. My chest is killing too as he introduced me to all new chest exercises. First thing I did this morning was pop two Advil, otherwise, I don't think I could have made it out of the bed and into the bathroom. Anyway, after the gym, I raced home to hit the showers and pack. I had a Dr.'s appointment in Herzliya Pituach and then Tamara, her husband, and I were going to hear Bret speak at this cute little bookstore/restaurant called Tmol Shilshom in Jerusalem. It was nice to see a fluent English speaker and so my appointment wasn't as painful as expected. Unfortunately, she's sending me for some additional tests, and I have to get some blood work done next week. I hate when they draw blood, many people can't do it without brusing me big time. What can I say, I've got weird veins in my arms and unless you're extremely experienced, chances are I'm going to be hurtin next week!

Michael, Tamara and her husband, Merav, Daniel and his wife and baby, and Buggy and I represented my Creative Writing class last night. It was great listening to Bret read from his own works, he has a great reading voice, very soothing. Some of the questions asked afterwards though were really odd, including one man who wanted to know what Bret thought about Anti-Semitism, but on the whole it was a great experience. I am going to rave about the food too because my salad was awesome! I ordered The Lover and it was definitely worth it! Buggy got the fruit salad and it looked good. I think we're going to return there for subsequent events, definitely.

I slept until 10:00 a.m. today, how awesome is that? I don't remember the last time I got that much sleep, considering the fact that I crashed around 12:30. That's almost 10 hours of straight, uninterrupted sleep! Yet, I still feel like I can go back to bed and catch a few more Z's. Oh well, can't really do that today! I'm heading to Efrat for Shabbat and I haven't been there for a weekend since 1994! I have a feeling that the area has probably changed a bit since the last time I was there, so it will really be interesting to see the neighborhood.

Countdown till I come back to NYC is 20 days from today! I can't believe it, I am so excited! I keep thinking of new things I need to do when I'm back in town, and now my fear is that I won't be able to get it all done in time! Oh well, that should be the absolute worst of my problems folks.

Exciting news, I was finally officially accepted into the Creative Writing Program! I got the Masters acceptance letter on Wednesday this week, and now I'm registered and almost all of the administrative junk I've had to deal with is taken care of.

It's supposed to be stormy in Tel Aviv this weekend, not sure what it's like in NYC or Maryland but I hear it's cold, so I hope everyone is bundling up!

Literature of the day is The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, which is the poem at the base of The Statue of Liberty.

Shabbat Shalom!