Approval

Yesterday was an incredibly productive day for us. It started off with an early morning when our cleaning lady came an hour earlier than she normally comes. I really like her, she's a Brazilian transplant who is studying to become a chemical engineer. She's cleaning apartments for extra money to pay for rent, school, etc. She showed up really really ill, a bad cold, and I tried to get her to go home and rest but she insisted on staying. And, for the first time since she started working with us, she did an amazing cleaning! Go figure.

After she left, I got down to business with my thesis proposal. I've been going back and forth, and back and forth with the powers that be and I just wanted this aspect of my thesis done. So, I did the necessary revisions, got the final approval from the powers that be, and decided to go to Bar Ilan today to personally hand in the document. I also needed to go to school to deal with this Minhal Hastudentim issue, which basically is a mess and I hope to g-d gets cleared up before the budget closes on December 15th. I had to physically come to school in order to request a transcript, which has majority of my grades from last year, that I will in turn submit to Minhal Hastudentim so they can pay for my courses this year. Since I already laid out the money for a semester that - as you all know I'm not having actually classes in - I want my money back. More on what happened at school today in a minute.

After I did some work, I took a quick cat nap and waited for Buggy to come home. Wednesday night, about one a month, we go do a big shopping and stock up on supplies. Since we're eaters, we had to replenish our supplies which dwindle quickly especially when I entertain. Since I pledged not to do any more entertaining until the end of the month - having my sister-in-law and Buggy's cousin over for dinner during Chanukah doesn't count as entertaining - I was hoping we could be a bit leaner this month. Well, we decided to try a different supermarket than the ones we normally go to, and we went to Rami Levi in Talipot. First of all, the place is really, really huge! I was extremely overwhelmed initially, and so I didn't do the best job in the beginning, but I got really into it towards the end of our shopping excursion. First of all, the fruits and vegetables were extremely cheap. It was 9 shekel a kilo (about 2.2 pounds) for artichokes, and we picked up 4 really nice ones. Of course, I always shop with a big list, and so Buggy and I split the list and went about our shopping. Now, I am making Marnina and Shulamit's meat and barley crock-pot soup for first course on Shabbos day, and I needed to get Flanken. No one, of course, knows how to say Flanken in Hebrew. Buggy didn't believe me that Flanken was even part of a cow - he thought I was talking about some strange animal he's not familiar with as Yiddish was a language never, ever spoken in his house. Another cultural difference between us - as a side point - is that I use yiddishisms quite a bit and he looks at me blankly. Who doesn't know what Zozah is? I told him it was "sauce" and he wondered why I just don't say sauce. I don't know - in my house - gravy/sauce is just Zozah.

I digress...Back to Rami Levi. Buggy had me call his Mom to ask about Flanken, who passed me on to a family friend who basically told me to ask for "Basar Rach for Chulent" or basically tough meat for the chulent. I sent Buggy to the meat guy while I hit the dairy section, and he came back with 1/2 a kilo of something. Hopefully, it will be the right thing and the soup will turn out ok. Now, the misconception with Rami Levi is that it's a cheaper supermarket. Wrong, wrong, wrong! I still managed to spend 850 shekel last night and granted, we got a lot of stuff, including expensive cleaning materials, but I marvel at how people in this country pay for groceries. On many anemic salaries, it must be very difficult feeding a growing family. Can you imagine what my food bills will look like once P"G we have kids? Fortunately, I don't need to worry about that tomorrow.

Today, we got another early start as our contractor came to fix the hot water boiler, which blew on us (and blew ALL of our electricity) Erev Shabbos. For 400 shekel, he fixed the necessary piece and then waited as we flipped back on the switch to the hot water boiler. I'm really hoping that this will fix the entire problem. After he left, we got ready and Buggy drove me to the Central Bus Station. I haven't been there in at least 2 months now, but it was so nice to be back and see that the place was ready with their Chanukah wares. There was a huge table of menorahs and candles and oil, it was amazing. All of the bakeries are churning out Sufganiot (jelly donuts) and people are walking around with wrapped gifts. I can't believe Tuesday night P"G will be the first night of Chanukah, and my second here in Israel! I really need to learn how to make potato latkes!

The ride out to Bar Ilan was uneventful, I did a bit of work brainstorming for a potential client, and then I went to the English department to drop off my thesis proposal. Yonatan was on campus and we met up, which was great as I really needed his help getting my transcript. Turns out, the woman who was supposed to collect my thesis proposal was not in the office. I ended up making another copy and leaving it for her on her desk. I hope on Sunday it's still there when she gets back to work. Afterwards, Yonatan and I went to the administration building to deal with my transcript issue and it was confusing - my Hebrew is decent but I just didn't understand this woman. For some reason, the 30 shekel I paid entitled me to 4 copies which I asked she send to my apartment. I wanted her to send it directly to Minhal Hastudentim, but it looks like I'm going to have to do a Tel Aviv day sometime next week to deal with that too. Hopefully my TA friends will be around and I will be able to at least get together will my friends so the trip isn't all about dropping off a form. And then, 25 minutes after arriving on campus, I was done with what I needed to do. Yonatan and I grabbed a quick bite and then I was back on the bus heading to Jerusalem. Buggy picked me up and I was starving - I didn't eat lunch with Yonatan cause I knew Buggy was waiting for me to eat - and so we went to Al Dente for some good Italian. Well, I actually think they changed chefs - or the one I'm used to just wasn't there - because the food was disappointing. Buggy liked his ravioli though, so it was worthwhile.

I'm hoping not to cook so much tomorrow as we're eating out at Buggy's parents tomorrow night. It would be great if I can get a quick walk in in the morning, so I can get some exercise. It was sad that the walking I did today at school was the most physical excursion I've done in weeks! I'm feeling like a bit, lumpy, couch potato so I need to get my butt in gear and soon! Anyway, I'm also leaving all of my Shabbos lunch cooking for tomorrow, but I'm hoping not to have to make too much. As a treat for Buggy, I got us lamb chops so I'm making my Aunt Amy's skillet lamb chop and spanish rice for lunch, and I'm making Marnina and Shulamit's soup for first course, roasting some cauliflower and also trying my hand at my sister-in-law's "Full" recipe, which is a French/Algerian origin. I'm thinking the marinade includes garlic, olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper but I need to get in touch with her to get the real deal. Hopefully, it will turn out great and Buggy will really, really enjoy lunch!

Product of the Day

Oxo Good Grips mixing bowls are the product of the day. I have no mixing bowls and I am in dire need of the Oxo ones! First of all, I believe that Oxo products are just great, great quality products. And, when it comes down to it, I just have nothing to use to make any of the foods I'm preparing. These days, I use salad bowls as a substitute and now my salad bowls have turned grungy and oily from all of the varying ingredients I use to make - well - whatever. Anyway, if anyone reading this can tell me if I can get the Oxo mixing bowls somewhere in Jerusalem, that would be great! Otherwise, the folks over at Oxo, please, please import some more of your amazing kitchen products!

Back to School!

I slept in today and so it's 10:00 a.m. and I'm still lounging in bed. That's a good thing, cause after yesterday's exhausting day I could use some more rest.

So, before I continue with my mundane post, a number of my readers (i.e. Cousin Neil and friends) have requested that I censor some of the topics on this blog. Primarily, they would like all references to bodily functions and Mikvah never, ever to appear again. I asked Yonatan at school yesterday what he thought, and he just said he can also just pass over anything that doesn't really interest him. Regardless, I'll keep this blog clean moving forward.

Well, yesterday was an incredibly busy day. Buggy had a do-over project due at school from last semester and I had to get to late registration at Bar Ilan. It took me forever on the 400 bus to get to school as traffic once we hit the Tel Aviv area was a nightmare. And, they stripped away the bus stop that used to be beneath the Geha gate and so now, they drop me off at least 10 minutes away from the gate. And it's this huge ramp that you have to walk up, and then a bunch of steps you need to walk down, in order to get to the right side of the campus. I was not expecting that, but good thing I was wearing good walking shoes.

Oh, and did I mention that yesterday was like the hottest day of the year? I sweated clear through my t-shirt and it was not pretty. So, first I had to go to the Feldman building to get my print out of my bill since the University never, ever sent me a bill. And, the woman behind the counter told me that she had a problem with my bill and I had to go to the Masters department office to sort something out. I had no idea what she was talking about because all I needed to do was get the bill and pay it. Plus, she spoke in Hebrew and didn't speak any English and I had no idea what she was saying. Oh, and did I mentioned that I had already waited for an hour on the line to see her when this whole thing happened?

Fortunately, Yonatan and Tamara were on campus registering and Tamara was done so they come to help me. The people at the Masters department office, though, are really really obnoxious. No one was manning the door so I walked and and went around to find someone to speak with. The woman got really rude when I just asked her to explain the words that they told me at Feldman and told me to wait outside online with everyone else. She said it in such a disgusting tone that I yelled back that I didn't understand Hebrew and she got surprised. What is wrong with these people? Does she think that she can talked to me and be rude and I'm not going to fight back? Fortunately, Yonatan and Tamara arrived just in time and, we waited online, and then Yonatan came in to be my translator.

Well, as soon as the woman saw me bring a man to help, she completely sofetned and explained the situation to him and made it seem like I yelled at her for no reason at all. Whatever. Yonatan told her I was sorry - I wasn't - and then she looked me up in the computer and told me that nothing was wrong. So, we had to go back to Feldman and this time, I wasn't waiting on any line. There was a different man behind the counter and he spoke English and when he typed in my number he said: "I don't understand the problem, you have to pay 3200 shekel!"

I said - I know - can I just get the print out? The lady was so incompetent, had she plugged in my number correctly the first time, I wouldn't have had to deal with any aggrevation. Well, the rest of the registration process went completely fine. I paid at the bank, went to the administration office to get my form, went to the English department to get it filled in, went to the computer lab to get it registered into the computer and the print out and I was done.

So, my schedule for this year is class on Tuesdays, from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. That's it. I have an independent study that will meet a couple of times a year, but I'm hoping it will meet on Tuesdays so I only have to be at school one morning all year. I'm pretty happy with my schedule and am looking forward to really working on my thesis.

After a quick lunch, I got back on the bus and went home to Jerusalem. Buggy, who passed his project (hurray!) was running his own errands and so he picked me up and we made a pit stop by his folks and then I drove us to get the car washed at the Mall. Buggy was just like my Mom when I drive, clenching the entire way. Fortunately, I got us there without any problems and we went inside to take out money and get some frozen yogurt treats. At this point, folks, I am falling off of my face. The weather at school was so hot and I sweated through my entire outfit, that I was pretty dehydrated. We got back to the house and Buggy made himself some lunch and I took a nap on the couch.

The rest of the evening was really quiet. Instead of forcing leftovers on us again, we decided to order some sushi for dinner, and then I was in bed by 10:30 p.m. Today is going to be another day full of errands. Buggy and I are going to take down the rest of our Succah once he comes back from giving in his car to be fixed (couple of dings and power steering issues). Then, we're going to go to the Supermarket and buy some food for the week, and then to the other side of Derech Beit Lechem for some fruit and vegetables.

I'm also hoping to finish up on my thank you cards as I have about 60 more to go! Phew! I can't wait till that's over!

Break Me Off a Piece of That....

Gimme a break, gimme a break. Break me off a piece of that KitKat bar!

Welcome to the newest segment of my blog I like to call Crave of the Day, which will be listed at the end of each blog entry with a reason. Can ya guess what I have a hankering for today?

I was up at 7:00 a.m. this morning and folks, it's a miracle that not only did I make it to class but I got there 30 minutes early! With the bus service in Tel Aviv frequently fickle, I decided to be play it safe and leave with plenty of time to get to school. Since I am not a morning person, and it takes forever to get ready some days, I prepared as much as possible the night before. That meant putting together my lunch, filling up my water bottles (3 with this heat is sometimes not enough!), and packing up my knapsac. Unfortunately, I wasn't that thorough because I left my Philosophy book at home and I am practically lost in class without it.

Anyway, it was great to be back in my Jewish American Literature and Philosophy courses. I know a lot of people in my class would say otherwise, but for me, these classes are the highlight of the program. I am more than happy spending hours each week delving into these texts. And, it turns out that, without the book I still had no problem chatting with Professor Harvey. I think he missed me :)

The weather in Israel is pretty nasty today. It's hot and humid and the atmosphere is full of sand and dust. It was raining dust this morning when I left for the bus, and I was scared that my hair would be muddy since I walked out the door with wet hair. I guess the dust wasn't as thick because I was okay when I got to class.

Yesterday, the author and political writer Emunah Elon (yes, the wife of Knesset member Benny Elon) came to speak to our class about her novel When You Awaken Love. I haven't had a chance to finish the novel, for me it was a bit of a difficult read, but I've vowed to continue to work my way through it. Anyway, she was really interesting in class and she made a comment that resonated with me. She said that everyone who chooses to live in Israel has chosen to put their life in danger. I wonder if people think that way, and that's the excuse they used for their bad/good behavior. I'm going to have to puzzle that over some more.

So, I need some advice. I'm in a predicament that I'm not sure how to deal with it and it's really bother me. So basically, I have a friend here who is a lovely woman. She has been very kind to me since I've moved here and I think I've been very kind to her in turn. Here's the issue - she has a tendency to boss me around and talk down to me. She actually reminds me of a friend I used to have in New York, who did the very same thing to me, and eventually we just stopped speaking. I'm the type of person who doesn't like to be told what to do, and I really hate it when someone talks down to me, but this is really a fundamental problem. How do you tell someone that you have issue with what is essentially they're personality? I spoke to Buggy about how I feel, and my thoughts on the situations, but have decided to put off figuring out what to do with her. I really like her and want to be friends, but I have a feeling that if this continues, I'm just going to end up "phasing her out" of my life. Oy, I just don't know what to do!

Anyway, I have to go to the supermarket still and pick up some of the ingredients for cooking tomorrow and Friday. In the meantime, I have been craving Kit Kat bites all day but haven't found any in this Country and it's one of the numerous items on my pre-wedding no consumption list. If you're reading this and aren't on a diet - go out and have a Kit Kat bite for me!