Back to school

School started again, and surprise, surprise, it’s overwhelming!  A ton of work, a ton of reading, spending hours at school, hardly seeing Uri…Yey!  I’m so having pasta tonight!  I thought I might need comfort food tonight, since I’ll be in school tonight in meetings until 7pm, and then when I get back home I will still have multiple tasks (reading article for one class, solving a case and creating a slide deck for another…), and now I can completely see myself with a bowl of pasts at hand with some of the béchamel sauce Uri made last week.

I’ve wanted to share with you guys something and I haven’t found the time for it.  This really goes back to this blogs claim to be the adventure of 2 Israelis in the land of plenty.  

One of the more popular toilet paper brands in the US is “Charmin”.  I highly recommend watching the commercial below.  You will probably find yourself asking “Who are the marketing idiots that thought that cartoon bears are cute enough to make people oblivious of the fact that the commercial is discussing toilet paper being stuck to your butt when you wipe it”.

 Anyway, they have several grades of paper.  We started out buying the cheapest one, which was perfectly fine.  Then recently bought the Ultra Soft.  Immediately we both noted that it was very strange.  In a way that might be hard to imagine, it’s actually too think and too soft.  This country is crazy! Excess excess!

Skillet baking 2

I had this long post I wanted to write about a funny thing that happened to me today that can be summarized by saying that I was interviews for a Georgian TV show.  But I am way to tiered to go into it.  

We just came back from dinner at our friend D's house.  Her parents are here visiting from Israel. so her mom made us dinner that was absolutely great.  Highlights included thini she made with orange juice (I'm guessing instead of the lemon, but maybe in addition to) and stuffed grape leaves.  Yum.  

We brought dessert.  As part of Spring break (woohoo!) I actually had time to bake.  I made two things:

1. Something recently called in the blogosphere "World Peace Cookies"  - a  very chocolaty cookie that was actually quite good.  I put in about twice the amount of chocolate chips (it was 5 ounces, but came out to 2/3 cup).  Also, I didn't freeze them for as long as it says - I was in a rush, so I just scooped some out on

 a pan, and stuck it in the freezer for 20 minutes.

2. Once again using our new skillet, I made an upside down apple cake.  I adapted the recipe from a, American Test Kitchen recipe for upside down pineapple cake.  I started off sauteing apples in brown sugar, then took out the apples, reduced the sugar with the apple juices to a caramel, and meanwhile made a fairly simple batter:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/4 teaspoon cardamon powde

r

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), softened but still cool

3/4 cup granulated sugar (5 1/4 ounces)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs at room temperature

1 egg white at room temperature

1/3 cup whole milk at room temperature.

Then, put the apples back in the caramel, the batter on the apples and, in the skillet - stuck it in the oven for 40 minutes.  

Hibby Jibbies

Today we received in the mail a package from Amazon.  It was a cast iron skillet we ordered at the beginning of the week, using a gift card we got for our birthdays – so thank you to all the contributors, it is the perfect gift.  This isn’t any skillet, it is actually THE skillet recommended by America’s test kitchen (making it a certified skillet, I guess).

Promptly, we used it to make corn bread.  When I actually came to make the bread – after being in the gym for an hour and going to school for a meeting with one of my professors, I was so hungry I didn’t really think too much – I took a recipe intended to be made in a pan and made it as though it was a similar recipe that is intended to actually be made in a skillet.  It still came out tasty, but a little flat since the skillet recipe calls for both baking soda & powder while the pan recipe calls for baking powder only.

To make it a square lunch, we had it with some fresh vegetables and some leftover Bolognese, which here sort of stood in for chili.   Yum.

Now the title of this post actually relates to the other thing I wanted to share with you.  It actually could not be further away from food.  I will warn you that it’s a bit gross so proceed at your own risk.  The events described below happened before lunchtime, but for obvious reasons I am writing them only after discussing lunch. 

So it was a very nice day today, very sunny and all.  I walked out of the house to go to the gym, and saw a little earth warm on the path.  I smiled to myself and thought “oh, look at that, spring is here”.  I continued walking down the hill towards the gym.  For context I will add at this stage that ever since my little fall in December, I gotten back to my habit from when I was a teenager of walking with my eyes looking at the ground.  So as I walk I keep seeing more and more of these squirmy things, some alive, most dead, some squirming only with half a body.  It sent shivers up my spine, at first I just took larger steps to avoid stepping on them, but then there were more and more, at one point I found myself running on tip toe thinking to myself that if I can’t avoid stepping on them, at least I’ll do it quickly and not look.  I can only imagine the grossed out look that was on my face.  When I got to the gym I felt like I had to wipe my shoes.  Yuck.

Amusing stuff from Boston

This is something we found in Boston, and I found really amusing, but forgot to mention it:

We didn't buy anything - just because something is funny, doesn't mean that its any good.  Not that it's bad, but it just didn't seem that special beyond the name.

That logic worked in Boston, but sort of stopped on Monday at the supermarket when I wanted to buy basketball shaped pasta.

Sping Break - WooHoo!

Today brings another late not post.  Though it’s not because I’ve spent all day working, but just the opposite – I’ve spent all day doing mostly nothing, and so I didn’t even think of it.  

Uri and I spent most of today together, and I just tagged along with his normal Monday routine, interrupting where possible.  We went to Wal-Mart and bought a huge box that is our new kitchen extension (fits nicely into the nook in the wall in front of our front door.  When I say huge, I mean it – I could easily fit inside, and have enough wiggle room to read a book. 

Then we went to Wegmans to buy groceries for home and for Kavita.  I did our shopping and Uri did hers, and despite the fact that it was totally separate, he still forgot multiple things he had to buy.  He claims it was because of me… and initially I thought that was an unfair claim, but if you look at it scientifically, I was the only variable… so what can you say?  

It was really one of those moments where you wish you were living in a stupid sitcom.  Because then, instead of getting upset at the fact that you have to drive downtown again, you could give a goofy look, and the “live” studio audience would laugh, and all will be right with the world.  But that didn’t happen, he went down to Wegmans again and I meanwhile cleaned the refrigerator (it’s sick that this is my idea of fun things to do during Spring Break).  

Then I went to the gym (for almost 2 hours!), came back, had a friendly conversation with our neighbor (imagine that, I was at home at an hour where sane people are actually out and about), made a salad, Uri and I each heated up leftovers and had dinner all before 9 pm.  Amazing.  

Oh – two comments about other things that happened today:

1. I returned a wine glass to Bon Ton.  I had bought a set of 4 glasses, and when I got home one was broken.  It took me a week but I returned it, and picked up another identical set.  Exactly identical – because here too, one was broken.  Needless to say in both times the broken glass was the last of the 4 that I unwrapped.  Well, I was really fed up with wrapping and unwrapping wine glasses, so I decided I would put my foot down, and demand they let me exchange just the one glass.  It took me two weeks to get around to it, but this morning I called them.  I was really expecting a fight – but nothing, it was so obvious to them that they would exchange the one glass.  Hmm... I love it when the customer is always right.

2. I had written a while back to a very cool company named Peeled Snacks.  Today I got an email from their head of marketing/ HR/ Blogger, it was pretty funny in the tone that it was written in  – so I thought I'd share.  Just to put it in context – their emails for some reason get sent to my junk mail, or never even make it there:

Subject: Peeling Tamar

Hi Tamar,

I'm not sure if you received my last email, but I'm interested in talking with you and learning more about your current goals and seeing if there's a fit.  I assume that you're currently in Ithaca, so a phone conversation would probably be the best thing, unless you expect to be in New York City soon.  Please let me know of your availability this week and we'll work something out.  And if this email is lost to the Internet, well that's really too bad.  All the best from New York City,

Ian Kelleher, Peeled Snacks HR guy and then some

Read the Peeled Skinny, Peeled Snacks' Blog! http://www.peeledsnacks.com/blog 646-290-5313 ian@peeledsnacks.com

12 hours in a cah

We took a vacation from Ithaca, and I took a short vacation for blogging – though you know I missed you… right? J

We headed out on a road trip to Boston… 6 hours – wow! I’ll say right away, cheers to Uri for braving the road there and back.

So – I’ll mention weekend highlights in bullet points:

• Saw a cranberry bog – very cool
• Uri went to Pandemonium, while I walked around and took pictures of Cambridge
• I slept until 10 am (Spring break woohoo!)
• Ate at some nice places: 
  Petit Robert Bistro – that was surprisingly reasonably prices (mid to high range)
  Punjabi Dhaba  - great Indian food, best Palak Paneer we ever ate and a name that’s really fun to say.
  Christina's Ice Cream - Locally made Ice cream in all kinds of interesting flavors (I has the strangest ones with Ginger - very yummy, and azuki beans - kinda neutral and went well with the ginger), Uri had maple walnut and malted vanilla
  Cheesecake Factory - this was our lunch pit-stop on the way to Boston.  Not bad at all actually, though the decor is horrendous.  I thought that maybe it was intentional - they wanted the place to look cheesy.
• Found a store called Restaurant Depot, and convinced them to let us shop there, since Uri has is a caterer - saw huge containers of canned foods. sauces and spices, bought a case of Italian EV olive oil (12 liters) for less than $80. 

Notice that getting a sofa is not on that list – yes, we looked for one, we drove out to IKEA and walked around the whole store.  That store is amazing is that no matter what, once you walk in the door you are compelled to walk the whole store, making no shortcuts.  And when you walk the whole store, needless to say you always find little things you want.  Marketing genius.  However, despite their whole “you put it together”/ brown box philosophy, the only couch that we liked and was in our price range was not boxed at all.  It was just the whole coach, as is, with some cardboard at both sides and a lot of saran wrap around it.  We looked into buying a roof rack, with no luck.  So we just left it there… oh well.  We’ll try keeping an eye on Craig’s list and hope for the best.

Happy Birthday Omri & Michal!

So technically today is tomorrow, and so if you really want to be picky about it- then yes, I missed a day.  But we all know it doesn't count.

Today was a very exciting day.  I had my marketing mid-term (I haven't a clue how i did, so don't ask) and my team and I completed our last assignment before Spring Break.  To mark the day, and prove that there is a god, it was also a very beautiful day*.  I actually walked outside with only a 3/4 sleeve shirt as a top.  In order to do this, I had to leave my heavy coat at Sage, so naturally the day progressed such that I found myself, same shirt on with an additional cardigan, running from the mall entrance to the car while snow flakes are falling from the sky.

Now I'm talking a break from packing (not that I needed a break, but I felt bad not writing).  Packing? YES! We are going to Boston.  ROAD TRIP! I'm really looking forward to it.  We will be in Boston for a couple of days, and then head down to NYC for a couple more.  The only odd thing is that the thing I am most excited about is that THE thing I am MOST excited about is the prospect of us coming back with a new sofa.  Hmmm...

* I once observed that Fridays in Israel are usually beautiful sunny days, and thought to myself that if anything were to convince me that there is a god and that he is jewish, it would probably be that.  But it doesn't.  

really really short

Another short one since it's 11:20 pm and I'm half way through studying for a mid-term I have tomorrow at 8:25 am.  

Lesson of the day: Don't make grand statements, because you're only setting yourself up for failure.  Didn't go to the gym, ant the hour some break between classes was spent doing basically nothing (well, talking to people, but nothing meaningful).  Also, did not make it to the gym.

Went with our semi-vegetarian house guests to Moosewood for dinner.  Nothing to write home about so I won't.  The only thing I will say is that the old saying was once again proven true - the higher they climb, the harder they fall.  It's likely I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have such high expectations.  

9 pm blues

It's actually 8:52 now, but by the time I finish writing it will likely be 9.  I'm writing this in blogger - its spell check is even worse than Word's.  

I am still at Sage working on my weekly case for a course called "Consulting Focus", that trains us in the art of consulting.  I will reserve my vicious comment on that for another time, but I here-by give rein to my dad to add a comment. 

This is the reason that I didn't get around to writing before.  I will likely not be able to finish the write up today, and will have to continue tomorrow morning, along with another small assignment due to the same course.  Classes tomorrow start at 10:10 am, then I have an hour of break and then this class from 1:30 to 4 pm.  Only after that will I get around to studying for my marketing mid-term on Wednesday.  I announce now for all to here (maybe then it will come true): In that hour break I will work on my internship search!

Other random info:

1. I still have not had dinner.

2. We have house guest starting today and until Thursday.  We thought we could get then an extra bed, but we can't because the cots Cornell used to offer have flees in them.

3. I went to the gym today - Yey!

9:03 pm

Keeping true to my word

For all of you who aren’t super spellers, I will let you in on the fact that in every post I have multiple words misspelled. I write in word, which has a spellchecker - it even catches when I write it’s instead of its or then instead of than, but it doesn’t catch everything. I will admit that I don’t read the entire post after I finish it. I justify it by saying that in that way the post is really a stream of consciousness and that I don’t have a chance to delete and edit what I thought to write down. That is true, but also, by the time I finish writing, I just want to upload it already. As they say here “Done and done!”
The reason I know I make spelling mistakes is that for each post there is at least one person that writes me back and informs me of the spelling mistakes. Sometimes I do go back and change them, if it’s really something where the word was just misspelled in the simplest way. But if it’s more that I misspoke or made up a phrase or something like that, I just leave it. The blog is written in my voice and sometimes that voice isn’t perfect.
In response to yesterday’s blog somebody commented that I wrote I was “tiered” (should be tired), initially I went to change it, but then I thought about the fact that in a way (that is grammatically wrong) I could describe myself as tiered (as having layers upon layers of assignments and responsibilities on my shoulders) and then it even fits in as part of the excuse I use not to go to the gym. So I left it in.
One last thing before I end (I did say that if I write everyday these blogs won’t be so long). Last night the clock moved forward here and it’s causing me frustration right now. You see I pride myself on getting up early. Not only is it part of who I am, it’s also my justification for going to bed early. Since it’s the weekend I let myself sleep in and got up at 7:30 am. But by the time I was downstairs (where both the computer clock and the clock on the DVR change automatically) it was already 8:35. So now I have all these things that I always do Sunday morning, that I’m already late in doing. :)

petitio principii

I have a very vivid memory of my mom, sitting in the kitchen of the house that we lived in in Maryland (11703 Greenlane Dr.), writing a letter to her mom.  She’s sitting at the kitchen table – a heavy round wooden table, the room is lit in neon lights, the floor is a laminate blue and off-white checkered floor and she’s writing a letter on a special kind of paper that you would fold into three and it itself would become the envelope.  I remember it was blue.  When I picture it in my head I even think of my mom’s hand writing, and how it’s always so round and neat and the line always straight, despite the fact that the paper was blank. 

The reason I remember this so distinctly is because this was something that would happen every day.  Every single day my mom would right to her mom and tell her what happened to us that day. 

I recalled this whole thing last week and thought to myself that I should start doing the same thing.  Not writing an actual letter but blogging every day.  This was I could let you guys (my captive following) in on the small details, rather than not blogging about the big things, or writing huge ginormous blogs because I need to explain context etc. There are other things I promised myself I’d do (like spend 30 min a day at the gym, since I’m getting pretty ginormous too).  Well, needless to say that neither happened.  I’ve been finding really good excuses for the gym part, and then using that as an excuse for the blogging part.  But since now I’m sitting at Sage and not going to the gym (I’m really tiered and my legs hurt) I thought at least I would blog.  Maybe if I start doing this every day, I’ll actually go to the gym everyday too.