I'm back in Jerusalem for one more night before heading back up north for two more nights in Tiberius. I think this trip I'm hitting most of the Roman cities. I waas in Caesaria a few days ago, and then in Beit Shean today (formerly Skitopolous). They all look pretty similar - a theater, a cardo, baths....
It's really, really windy here and actually pretty cool at night. Up north, things were very hazy the whole time. Rumor has it that it's dust and sand from Africa. I believe it given how close we are. Either way, it makes the desert less beautiful to drive through.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
JFK....
You have never seen a car so packed to the gills as when Ronnie dropped me off at Dulles on Sunday morning. Needless to say that got a little better when I got out of the car with my two bags, but still. I specifically wanted to get to the airport early because Dulles always has horrible lines to both check in and for security. We pulled up to the airport and there weren't so many cars in front, which was already pretty strange. Even more strange - almost no one in the airport and only one person in line to check in at the Delta counter. Even the staff thought it was weird.
I then had a solid 7 hours at JFK. The thing about Terminal 4 at JFK is that if you're not at one of the few tables crowded into the food court, there's almost nowhere else to sit. Unless you want to sit on the concrete benches that they have thoughtfully put in everywhere else they can think of. And, there are virtually no outlets anywhere, so if you want to work on a laptop, it better be charged. Needless to say, mine was not. I wound up sitting on the floor outside a store and using their electricity. I figured if I was going to be sitting on concrete, it didn't really matter if it was on the floor or on a bench. I was right.
When I checked in for the flight to Israel, they gave me a seat in the aisle in the 53rd row. Neither part excited me. They told me it was a full flight, seats all already assigned and that there were no seats available further up in the plane of any kind. The man checking in next to me was upset that he didn't have an aisle. He was pretty tall so I figured he really needed one. I asked where he was sitting. As luck would have it, he had a window in the 33rd row. So we switched. When I saw him at the gate as we were waiting to board I remembered to ask if he'd ordered a special meal. I was relieved to find out that he had not.
I'm here. I've got a new phone that even has a camera, not that I need it. I lost all my old numbers, which is unfortunate, but I've got most of them written somewhere. I moved into the apartment, got caught in the worst traffic I've ever been in today, drove to Netanya and ate dinner with the students in a restaurant where they think that fish is vegetarian. That said, I have a balcony that overlooks the beach (all the rooms here do) and that's good enough for me.
I then had a solid 7 hours at JFK. The thing about Terminal 4 at JFK is that if you're not at one of the few tables crowded into the food court, there's almost nowhere else to sit. Unless you want to sit on the concrete benches that they have thoughtfully put in everywhere else they can think of. And, there are virtually no outlets anywhere, so if you want to work on a laptop, it better be charged. Needless to say, mine was not. I wound up sitting on the floor outside a store and using their electricity. I figured if I was going to be sitting on concrete, it didn't really matter if it was on the floor or on a bench. I was right.
When I checked in for the flight to Israel, they gave me a seat in the aisle in the 53rd row. Neither part excited me. They told me it was a full flight, seats all already assigned and that there were no seats available further up in the plane of any kind. The man checking in next to me was upset that he didn't have an aisle. He was pretty tall so I figured he really needed one. I asked where he was sitting. As luck would have it, he had a window in the 33rd row. So we switched. When I saw him at the gate as we were waiting to board I remembered to ask if he'd ordered a special meal. I was relieved to find out that he had not.
I'm here. I've got a new phone that even has a camera, not that I need it. I lost all my old numbers, which is unfortunate, but I've got most of them written somewhere. I moved into the apartment, got caught in the worst traffic I've ever been in today, drove to Netanya and ate dinner with the students in a restaurant where they think that fish is vegetarian. That said, I have a balcony that overlooks the beach (all the rooms here do) and that's good enough for me.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
inflatable beds and Ready, Set, Cook!
Late last night we were ready to try out the new inflatable bed. So I take it out of the box, find the pump and actually look at the instructions before just assuming I know what to do, which, if you know me, you know that's already a little unusual.
The first half of the book is in Spanish, which I do not read or understand. I find the English and see that before the bed is inflated for the first time using the enclosed pump, the pump must be charged for 24 hours.
What?! Why wasn't this on the box? Ronnie thinks it is a disincentive to buy something that you purchase knowing you cannot use right away. I believe that I will never recommend this brand to anyone else because they should have told me in advance to charge the pump!
It's a good thing we had sleeping bags.
This morning, I had to figure out what to make for breakfast. I'd kept out a frying pan, a plastic bowl and a wooden spoon so that Ronnie would have the bare basics when he got to Milwaukee before our stuff. I looked in the fridge. We've been making good progress, but there's still too much there. We had egg beaters. But I'm not the biggest fan unless they can be seriously doctored up. What to doctor them with....
I found sun dried tomatoes, frozen basil in olive oil from our farm share two years ago, and some grated parmesan cheese. Not bad, and in fact pretty good. So I made the same thing for Ronnie along with many fake saugages. Remember, we had to eat in shifts because we only have one bowl....
The first half of the book is in Spanish, which I do not read or understand. I find the English and see that before the bed is inflated for the first time using the enclosed pump, the pump must be charged for 24 hours.
What?! Why wasn't this on the box? Ronnie thinks it is a disincentive to buy something that you purchase knowing you cannot use right away. I believe that I will never recommend this brand to anyone else because they should have told me in advance to charge the pump!
It's a good thing we had sleeping bags.
This morning, I had to figure out what to make for breakfast. I'd kept out a frying pan, a plastic bowl and a wooden spoon so that Ronnie would have the bare basics when he got to Milwaukee before our stuff. I looked in the fridge. We've been making good progress, but there's still too much there. We had egg beaters. But I'm not the biggest fan unless they can be seriously doctored up. What to doctor them with....
I found sun dried tomatoes, frozen basil in olive oil from our farm share two years ago, and some grated parmesan cheese. Not bad, and in fact pretty good. So I made the same thing for Ronnie along with many fake saugages. Remember, we had to eat in shifts because we only have one bowl....
Friday, May 25, 2007
the ticking box
Did I mention that when I went to set my alarm to wake up early this morning, that the clock radio had been packed? (see the previous post - it hadn't been nailed down) So I had to go with plan B, which was to set my cell phone alarm. It went off at 6:15am and I tried to wake up. I hit snooze, which I actually didn't know was a possibility on the cell phone. Sidenote: since I already seemed to have learned something new so early in the morning, it really seemed pointless to actually wake up. but I did anyway.
At 6:30am, I heard a beeping. From a box. Across the room. At somepoint during the packing, the alarm button on one of our travel alarm clocks must have been pushed or pulled or whatever needs to happen to be set. And since I'm pretty sure I know which one sounds like that, it's going to go off every 12 hours until the batteries die....
At 6:30am, I heard a beeping. From a box. Across the room. At somepoint during the packing, the alarm button on one of our travel alarm clocks must have been pushed or pulled or whatever needs to happen to be set. And since I'm pretty sure I know which one sounds like that, it's going to go off every 12 hours until the batteries die....
post-packing....
I got home with working brake lights to find the house in boxes. That is except for one drawer of kitchen stuff, all the paint brushes and rollers in the utility room, and all the lightbulbs in the basement.
You don't really think about the fact that with the exception of things they just forget (mentioned above), that they're really going to be packing everything that isn't nailed down. Like the backpack that I always take with me to Israel that has a padded section for a laptop and also usually the permanent storage place for my passport. Or anti-frizz spray for my hair. They live in DC, they know what the weather is like now - why on earth would they think I don't need that for the next few days?! They also left things like televisions and a cable box, but packed the remote controls. And they packed the base for one of our phones, but not the actual phone. And all of this stuff - books, dishes, pots and pans, clothes, towels, etc, not including furniture filled 119 boxes. I knew we had a lot of stuff, but criminy!
And for some reason, I was under the mis-impression that they would be leaving clothes in the dresser drawers. They do not. Nor do they leave stuff in the drawer of the nightstand. I chose correctly when I had to open a box this morning to find the caps for the air mattress components of our bed.
What they intentionally don't pack are things like liquids (cleaners, as opposed to spray conditioners, evidently!) and batteries (totally annoying that we have so many right now). They also don't pack all the opened but definitely still good things in the door of the fridge. If anyone reading needs pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, ketchup, parmesan cheese, curry paste call me as soon as possible.
The loaders are theoretically at the house now so when I get home from work, there should be very, very little left in the house other than the stuff in the refrigerator, the stuff that one of my co-workers was supposed to pick up yesterday but didn't, the stuff that I need for Israel, the stuff that Ronnie is going to stuff into our little car, and the stuff we leave for Misha that we'll just have to pick up on our next visit.
Lest you think there is no good news, I was able to watch the season finale of Lost this season. Thank gd - because it was a really, really good one. During the two hours, there were definitely times where I did not breathe for minutes at a time. Needless to say I seemed to have recovered from whatever hypoxia I suffered.
You don't really think about the fact that with the exception of things they just forget (mentioned above), that they're really going to be packing everything that isn't nailed down. Like the backpack that I always take with me to Israel that has a padded section for a laptop and also usually the permanent storage place for my passport. Or anti-frizz spray for my hair. They live in DC, they know what the weather is like now - why on earth would they think I don't need that for the next few days?! They also left things like televisions and a cable box, but packed the remote controls. And they packed the base for one of our phones, but not the actual phone. And all of this stuff - books, dishes, pots and pans, clothes, towels, etc, not including furniture filled 119 boxes. I knew we had a lot of stuff, but criminy!
And for some reason, I was under the mis-impression that they would be leaving clothes in the dresser drawers. They do not. Nor do they leave stuff in the drawer of the nightstand. I chose correctly when I had to open a box this morning to find the caps for the air mattress components of our bed.
What they intentionally don't pack are things like liquids (cleaners, as opposed to spray conditioners, evidently!) and batteries (totally annoying that we have so many right now). They also don't pack all the opened but definitely still good things in the door of the fridge. If anyone reading needs pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, ketchup, parmesan cheese, curry paste call me as soon as possible.
The loaders are theoretically at the house now so when I get home from work, there should be very, very little left in the house other than the stuff in the refrigerator, the stuff that one of my co-workers was supposed to pick up yesterday but didn't, the stuff that I need for Israel, the stuff that Ronnie is going to stuff into our little car, and the stuff we leave for Misha that we'll just have to pick up on our next visit.
Lest you think there is no good news, I was able to watch the season finale of Lost this season. Thank gd - because it was a really, really good one. During the two hours, there were definitely times where I did not breathe for minutes at a time. Needless to say I seemed to have recovered from whatever hypoxia I suffered.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
The Packers
The door rang at 8:30am this morning. Outside there were three men. It was unclear whether they were wise. The house was a veritable hurricane zone and in little more than 6 hours, the place is in boxes.
I, of course, was conveniently out of the house all day at the mechanic's. Given that Ronnie is driving to Milwaukee on Sunday morning, I thought it best if the car didn't shake everytime it hit 50 miles and hour. And it's probably best if the brake lights work, too.
There's still a lot of stuff that's not boxed. Cords, phones, and other random things that I thought would have been stuffed into something by now. The technology part is probably the most complicated - between the cable boxes and wireless router and phones and remote controls, I have really no clue how it's all going to be put back together.
And of course, I will be conveniently out of the country for all of this, spending another month in Israel....
I, of course, was conveniently out of the house all day at the mechanic's. Given that Ronnie is driving to Milwaukee on Sunday morning, I thought it best if the car didn't shake everytime it hit 50 miles and hour. And it's probably best if the brake lights work, too.
There's still a lot of stuff that's not boxed. Cords, phones, and other random things that I thought would have been stuffed into something by now. The technology part is probably the most complicated - between the cable boxes and wireless router and phones and remote controls, I have really no clue how it's all going to be put back together.
And of course, I will be conveniently out of the country for all of this, spending another month in Israel....
Sunday, April 08, 2007
strange things i find
I seem to have a knack for finding weird links, usually by starting to follow more normal ones that progress slowly into the realm of strange.
http://www.robertbolesta.com/2005/valuepack.htm
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17025280@N00/sets/72157600038845249/detail/
http://www.robertbolesta.com/2005/valuepack.htm
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17025280@N00/sets/72157600038845249/detail/
Friday, March 30, 2007
Walmart and kosher Broccoli
I only made one trip to Walmart today. I usually make two runs during the day and yesterday I actually made three, so I guess it evens out more or less. The thing is, I have no cell phone reception here at camp so my daily trips to Walmart are the only times I really have communication with the outside world.
So today it's been just me and the students cooking for Shabbat. They spent all day in the kitchen. But really, it's not so much cooking as it is assembling. Pasta salad, veggie stir fry, honey/cinnamon carrots, tuna and egg salad, instant mashed potatoes with fried onions (really good), and broccoli.
Our mashgiach has never supervised a kitchen that's made frozen broccoli before (he's a student). After many calls to the great rabbis (no clue who, but I assume that's who they were). It turns out that he needed to boil the green stuff for two minutes, then put it in cold water and agitate each individual spear to check for bugs. We had a case of broccoli and this took a good hour. By the end of the hour we were all agitated and the broccoli lookes pathetic. Oh well.
Most of our menu has been dictated by the over buying from he last two weeks. There are still 15 pounds of baby carrots that we'll never use and cases and cases of bagels and the accompanying cream cheese packets. Plus, there are more industrial size cans of tuna than I knew what to do with. At least they ordred hard boiled eggs already peeled....
So today it's been just me and the students cooking for Shabbat. They spent all day in the kitchen. But really, it's not so much cooking as it is assembling. Pasta salad, veggie stir fry, honey/cinnamon carrots, tuna and egg salad, instant mashed potatoes with fried onions (really good), and broccoli.
Our mashgiach has never supervised a kitchen that's made frozen broccoli before (he's a student). After many calls to the great rabbis (no clue who, but I assume that's who they were). It turns out that he needed to boil the green stuff for two minutes, then put it in cold water and agitate each individual spear to check for bugs. We had a case of broccoli and this took a good hour. By the end of the hour we were all agitated and the broccoli lookes pathetic. Oh well.
Most of our menu has been dictated by the over buying from he last two weeks. There are still 15 pounds of baby carrots that we'll never use and cases and cases of bagels and the accompanying cream cheese packets. Plus, there are more industrial size cans of tuna than I knew what to do with. At least they ordred hard boiled eggs already peeled....
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Chili for 100
How many pounds of dried beans do you need to make chili for 100 people? If the answer is about 12 pounds of assorted beans, then we're on the right track. Plus we added about 10 bags of Morningstar Farms crumbled "meat". Some diced tomatoes, onions and spices and hopefully it will be done in the next 30 minutes.
I say (and mean) hopefully because despite soaking the beans overnight and even changing the water once, they are still a bit "crunchy", and that's after simmering with everything else for almost 2.5 hours.
I hope the cornbread is ok...
I say (and mean) hopefully because despite soaking the beans overnight and even changing the water once, they are still a bit "crunchy", and that's after simmering with everything else for almost 2.5 hours.
I hope the cornbread is ok...
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Katrina, 18 months later and counting
This week I'm staying at a very rustic (emphasis on the "very rustic" part) camp in Kiln, Mississippi, just north of Bay St. Louis and Waveland. The house that was the main office of campu was flooded to about the 5 foot mark. I have no cell phone reception there and rare email access.
The devastation is so much more than one might imagine so long after the hurricane. Not only are the houses boarded up or undergoing gutting or rehab, but so many of the businesses are closed and it doesn't appear that they're going to reopen anytime soon. Everything seems to be for sale.
Our students are working on houses in Chalmette, Louisiana in St. Bernard Parish right outside of New Orleans. They're gutting houses, sorting out the valuables to save for the homeowners and pulling out appliances, drywall, floor tiles, carpeting, and whatever else is between them and the frame of the house. If the homeowners decide to rebuild, it's there for them, if not, the houses are leveled to the ground. I haven't seen it, but they say that takes about 30 minutes to go from a standing house to the bare concrete foundation.
Today they heard from Colonel David Dysart, the person in charge of recovery efforts for St. Bernard Parish. According to him, FEMA has basically abandoned the parish and its people. The houses aren't even close to being ready, but FEMA is already asking for their trailers back. Because the hospital there was private and FEMA won't fund private enterprise, they have been unable to rebuild the hospital. The process to get a Right of Entry to start gutting a house is a long and complicated one and that's compounded by the fact that the parish doesn't have the information they need to communicate with the property owners. FEMA has it but won't share it because of privacy concerns. He also told us that the budget for the parish comes from two primary sources, sales tax and real estate tax. There is very, very little real estate tax income coming in, and since so many business are still closed and unlikely to reopne, not so much sales tax either.
I've been out at the work sites with the students yesterday and today. They're really working hard. I've been running the kitchen, which means telling the students what to do to set up breakfast, supervise the students making dinner, and get the lunch-making students set up at night so I can finally go to sleep.
I've seen some really, really big bugs here. I think that they might be considered a new species if anyone bothered to come study them. And I've spent a lot of time at Wal-Mart stocking up on supplied. The kitchen people from last week ordered way, way too much food, but unless we're going to eat bagels all week, I've got to do some shopping. The kitchen we're using to cook for 90 people is small, by the best comparisons. there's one small oven, 4 burners, but only 2 of which can be used at any time, and a scant amount of counter space. And there's no where to really put the pots and metal pans we've been using.
Did I mention the really big bugs?
We were supposed to be staying in Slidell, Louisiana. We went by there on Monday to pick up some of the things left behind when we moved to the Mississippi camp. The place there was formerly a furniture warehouse and the activity and food tents are in the parking lot. The dorms are in the warehouse and the lights are never turned off. And the security guard was wearing a holstered gun. We're not sure why. Rustic beats industrial any day.
The devastation is so much more than one might imagine so long after the hurricane. Not only are the houses boarded up or undergoing gutting or rehab, but so many of the businesses are closed and it doesn't appear that they're going to reopen anytime soon. Everything seems to be for sale.
Our students are working on houses in Chalmette, Louisiana in St. Bernard Parish right outside of New Orleans. They're gutting houses, sorting out the valuables to save for the homeowners and pulling out appliances, drywall, floor tiles, carpeting, and whatever else is between them and the frame of the house. If the homeowners decide to rebuild, it's there for them, if not, the houses are leveled to the ground. I haven't seen it, but they say that takes about 30 minutes to go from a standing house to the bare concrete foundation.
Today they heard from Colonel David Dysart, the person in charge of recovery efforts for St. Bernard Parish. According to him, FEMA has basically abandoned the parish and its people. The houses aren't even close to being ready, but FEMA is already asking for their trailers back. Because the hospital there was private and FEMA won't fund private enterprise, they have been unable to rebuild the hospital. The process to get a Right of Entry to start gutting a house is a long and complicated one and that's compounded by the fact that the parish doesn't have the information they need to communicate with the property owners. FEMA has it but won't share it because of privacy concerns. He also told us that the budget for the parish comes from two primary sources, sales tax and real estate tax. There is very, very little real estate tax income coming in, and since so many business are still closed and unlikely to reopne, not so much sales tax either.
I've been out at the work sites with the students yesterday and today. They're really working hard. I've been running the kitchen, which means telling the students what to do to set up breakfast, supervise the students making dinner, and get the lunch-making students set up at night so I can finally go to sleep.
I've seen some really, really big bugs here. I think that they might be considered a new species if anyone bothered to come study them. And I've spent a lot of time at Wal-Mart stocking up on supplied. The kitchen people from last week ordered way, way too much food, but unless we're going to eat bagels all week, I've got to do some shopping. The kitchen we're using to cook for 90 people is small, by the best comparisons. there's one small oven, 4 burners, but only 2 of which can be used at any time, and a scant amount of counter space. And there's no where to really put the pots and metal pans we've been using.
Did I mention the really big bugs?
We were supposed to be staying in Slidell, Louisiana. We went by there on Monday to pick up some of the things left behind when we moved to the Mississippi camp. The place there was formerly a furniture warehouse and the activity and food tents are in the parking lot. The dorms are in the warehouse and the lights are never turned off. And the security guard was wearing a holstered gun. We're not sure why. Rustic beats industrial any day.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Laverne & Shirley, Lenny & Squiggy
I think we saw one of their apartments this weekend while we were looking at duplexes in Milwaukee. It's a common Milwaukee thing, but evidently not so much in the rest of the country. What we saw ranged from "frat boy chic" (and I used the term "chic"extremely liberally) to uber-modern.
We learned several things:
We learned several things:
- Living closer to campus might be nice for students, but isn't so nice if you want to be a landlords.
- Polka dots all over the walls leading up to the second floor entrance may only be a nice idea if it's not the owner's apartment.
- There are many versions of the alcohol periodic table that also tells you how to contruct various drinks.
- Pool tables and ping pong tables are popular in dining rooms of college students.
- Too many people paint over wood trim for no good reason.
- A queen-size bed will take up most of the space in the largest bedroom in nearly all the apartments we saw.
- A house that costs $125,000 more than another, really is a lot nicer than its less expensive counterpart.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Beware the Ides of March
Well, once again we're at the Ides of March. A lot of people don't know that every month has an "Ides". The ides of March, May, July and October fall on the 15th of the month, and on all the other months, it's the 13th.
It's also my half-birthday, just in case you were interested.
It's also my half-birthday, just in case you were interested.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
From 20.75 to 83 in no time
I was in St. Louis last week for my father's 20.75 birthday, or 83 if in human years. He celebrates in leap years, so next year he'll finally be old enough to buy a beer his doctor won't let him drink.
Friday afternoon we went driving. About a year ago, we went driving for the first time in a long time. We were in a big, empty parking lot and it wasn't easy for him to shift his right leg enough to cover the brake and stop quickly if he needed to, but I think it was good for him to get back behind the wheel. A few weeks later, still in the parking lot, he was definitely better but not quite ready to drive in case of any emergency (not that any were expected). And last Thanksgiving, we went out on "real" streets really early on Thanksgiving days without many cars. But this past Friday my dad pulled out of the driveway and took us around the subdivision, onto the main roads, through a parking lot, back up through the neighborhood, around the corner into the next subdivision, back onto the main roads and then back to the house. Definitely an improvement. Maybe highways next time?
Friday afternoon we went driving. About a year ago, we went driving for the first time in a long time. We were in a big, empty parking lot and it wasn't easy for him to shift his right leg enough to cover the brake and stop quickly if he needed to, but I think it was good for him to get back behind the wheel. A few weeks later, still in the parking lot, he was definitely better but not quite ready to drive in case of any emergency (not that any were expected). And last Thanksgiving, we went out on "real" streets really early on Thanksgiving days without many cars. But this past Friday my dad pulled out of the driveway and took us around the subdivision, onto the main roads, through a parking lot, back up through the neighborhood, around the corner into the next subdivision, back onto the main roads and then back to the house. Definitely an improvement. Maybe highways next time?
Friday, February 23, 2007
Casual Friday
I seem to have surprised everyone today by wearing jeans to work. It is casual Friday, but I think given how relatively casually dress on a daily basis, no one thought I could get much more casual without wearing pajamas to work. Evidently they just don't know me well enough. My boss did a double take - that was worth the whole thing.
I have to say, it is very comfortable to wear jeans and a t-shirt (long sleeve, from a Hillel conference - they shouldn't give them to us if they don't want us to wear them!) and tennis shoes to work. I may have to do it more often.
I'm pretty sure it won't effect my work product, so maybe I can lobby for Casual Wednesday...?
I have to say, it is very comfortable to wear jeans and a t-shirt (long sleeve, from a Hillel conference - they shouldn't give them to us if they don't want us to wear them!) and tennis shoes to work. I may have to do it more often.
I'm pretty sure it won't effect my work product, so maybe I can lobby for Casual Wednesday...?
Monday, February 19, 2007
The Amazing Race
Well, the all-stars edition has begun. And while popular opinion says that Rob and Amber are completely annoying, they're also a great team to watch. They've got one goal in mind, they are are ruthless, completely competitive, and they aren't mean to each other. Dave and Mary don't have a chance, even though I wish they would.
Work these days also seems like an amazing race of sorts. Will we actually get 4000 students on buses, or even have time for them to apply before registration closes? Who knows?! The numbers are creeping up way, way too slowly.
And in March, the travel begins again - Chicago/Milwaukee, New Orleans, Orlando, training (who knows where) and then back to Israel. St. Louis at some point? more Milwaukee? Unfortunately, Phil won't be waiting at the mat to tell me whether I've been eliminated or not....
Work these days also seems like an amazing race of sorts. Will we actually get 4000 students on buses, or even have time for them to apply before registration closes? Who knows?! The numbers are creeping up way, way too slowly.
And in March, the travel begins again - Chicago/Milwaukee, New Orleans, Orlando, training (who knows where) and then back to Israel. St. Louis at some point? more Milwaukee? Unfortunately, Phil won't be waiting at the mat to tell me whether I've been eliminated or not....
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
March Madness
Well, it's official. The March round will be the death of us yet. We probably won't really die (and boy would that be bad if we did!), but we might be placed in an undisclosed location for an indeterminate period of time while we regain basic the life skills which have been put aside in order to get 200 people on flights.
For us, it's not even 10% of the population we brought this winter, but we're doing it in 10% of the time....
For us, it's not even 10% of the population we brought this winter, but we're doing it in 10% of the time....
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Austrian Airlines...
I flew Austrian Air home. Truth be told, the flights were excellent, if you could get beyond the green seats with yellow and red fabric where your head rests. It looked like a big circus tent. And all the flight attendents wear read from head to toe. Pants (or skirts with red tights), shoes, jackets and when I saw them getting their luggage (not all red, interestingly enough), they had red coats and briefcases. The pillows were good and I got a little bit of sleep and saw two and a half movies. And I also learned that Diet Coke (here, Coke Light) could be considered Halal, but there it was, the Halal hechsher. It was produced in Malaysia, which could explain why there was no OU on it, but I really didn't know that Coke had to be Halal....
Sunday, January 21, 2007
4:45am - does it matter where?!
This hour should just not be allowed. I'm checked in for my flight, my bags will hopefully make it with me to DC. The airport is actually a pretty busy place at this hour. The road here was empty, until the last few kilometers when cabs magically appeared out of nowhere, all en route to the airport.
My two cents - every airport should have free wireless. I'm not sure what to do for the passengers without laptops, but I just can't worry about them right now.
And for the first time I have two very full bags checked. I usually check two bags back, but they usually have a good amount of extra room in them. This time, they're both stuffed. Between gifts for the rakazim (which I really hope don't break), a small container of rugelach for the IT team and two extra fleeces, there's really no extra space. And this means I have two carry-ons, which I hate. My backpack (with the computer) and my other bag with my binder and a few pita/hummus/eggplant sandwiches I made 12 hours ago but that I'm sure will be really tasty for breakfast in Vienna.
When I moved in to the apartment, there were 2 eggs, 1/2 a loaf of bread and the dregs of the last person's orange juice. All those things are still there, plus I left three apples, the rest of the hummus and eggplant, and two liters of Pepsi Max (aka diet pepsi). I guess it will be interesting to see how long it all collects there... Mostly, I regret leaving the Pepsi Max.
And, as crazy as it sounds, I need to go some cash. I think I have maybe 10 shekels to my name right now, which means I can't buy something to drink now, and have enough left to buy something when I come back. I tried to get money yesterday, but the machine was closed and the next bank didn't like my card.
My two cents - every airport should have free wireless. I'm not sure what to do for the passengers without laptops, but I just can't worry about them right now.
And for the first time I have two very full bags checked. I usually check two bags back, but they usually have a good amount of extra room in them. This time, they're both stuffed. Between gifts for the rakazim (which I really hope don't break), a small container of rugelach for the IT team and two extra fleeces, there's really no extra space. And this means I have two carry-ons, which I hate. My backpack (with the computer) and my other bag with my binder and a few pita/hummus/eggplant sandwiches I made 12 hours ago but that I'm sure will be really tasty for breakfast in Vienna.
When I moved in to the apartment, there were 2 eggs, 1/2 a loaf of bread and the dregs of the last person's orange juice. All those things are still there, plus I left three apples, the rest of the hummus and eggplant, and two liters of Pepsi Max (aka diet pepsi). I guess it will be interesting to see how long it all collects there... Mostly, I regret leaving the Pepsi Max.
And, as crazy as it sounds, I need to go some cash. I think I have maybe 10 shekels to my name right now, which means I can't buy something to drink now, and have enough left to buy something when I come back. I tried to get money yesterday, but the machine was closed and the next bank didn't like my card.
4:45am - does it matter where?!
This hour should just not be allowed. I'm checked in for my flight, my bags will hopefully make it with me to DC. The airport is actually a pretty busy place at this hour. The road here was empty, until the last few kilometers when cabs magically appeared out of nowhere, all en route to the airport.
My two cents - every airport should have free wireless. I'm not sure what to do for the passengers without laptops, but I just can't worry about them right now.
And for the first time I have two very full bags checked. I usually check two bags back, but they usually have a good amount of extra room in them. This time, they're both stuffed. Between gifts for the rakazim (which I really hope don't break), a small container of rugelach for the IT team and two extra fleeces, there's really no extra space. And this means I have two carry-ons, which I hate. My backpack (with the computer) and my other bag with my binder and a few pita/hummus/eggplant sandwiches I made 12 hours ago but that I'm sure will be really tasty for breakfast in Vienna.
When I moved in to the apartment, there were 2 eggs, 1/2 a loaf of bread and the dregs of the last person's orange juice. All those things are still there, plus I left three apples, the rest of the hummus and eggplant, and two liters of Pepsi Max (aka diet pepsi). I guess it will be interesting to see how long it all collects there... Mostly, I regret leaving the Pepsi Max.
And, as crazy as it sounds, I need to go some cash. I think I have maybe 10 shekels to my name right now, which means I can't buy something to drink now, and have enough left to buy something when I come back. I tried to get money yesterday, but the machine was closed and the next bank didn't like my card.
My two cents - every airport should have free wireless. I'm not sure what to do for the passengers without laptops, but I just can't worry about them right now.
And for the first time I have two very full bags checked. I usually check two bags back, but they usually have a good amount of extra room in them. This time, they're both stuffed. Between gifts for the rakazim (which I really hope don't break), a small container of rugelach for the IT team and two extra fleeces, there's really no extra space. And this means I have two carry-ons, which I hate. My backpack (with the computer) and my other bag with my binder and a few pita/hummus/eggplant sandwiches I made 12 hours ago but that I'm sure will be really tasty for breakfast in Vienna.
When I moved in to the apartment, there were 2 eggs, 1/2 a loaf of bread and the dregs of the last person's orange juice. All those things are still there, plus I left three apples, the rest of the hummus and eggplant, and two liters of Pepsi Max (aka diet pepsi). I guess it will be interesting to see how long it all collects there... Mostly, I regret leaving the Pepsi Max.
And, as crazy as it sounds, I need to go some cash. I think I have maybe 10 shekels to my name right now, which means I can't buy something to drink now, and have enough left to buy something when I come back. I tried to get money yesterday, but the machine was closed and the next bank didn't like my card.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
4-peat
Well, I'm headed back to the Shalom hotel for the fourth Shabbat in a row. At least its predictable, and there is only one other bus there other than our four. I believe I can fairly accurately predict the menu for both dinner and lunch and where they will hide the vegetarian shnitzel so that it will sufficiently cool before anyone who actually wants it, will find it.
There are four elevators at the Shalom hotel. One is a service elevator that holds three people, max. The other three each hold about seven people, maybe 8. One of them, on Shabbat, is a Shabbat elevator that stops at every floor on the way up to 17, and every floor on the way back to the Lobby. Of the other two, one usually broken. The fun begins because you never know when the elevator is going to break and who will be in it when it does.
What this Shabbat also means though is that I'm due to leave Israel soon. As always happens, I'm inevitably caught between being ready to go back, and not ready to leave. I'm cramming in a few last meetings this morning and Sunday, and yesterday was pretty packed as well. Still left to do, buy rugelach to bring back to the office and deliver the plant that I was given for Shabbat a few weeks ago to Esther's parents.... And drop off my laundry so that I have something clean to wear tonight.
The good news is that I'll have 4 hours in the airport before I can even check my luggage in on Sunday night so I'll get a lot of work done in the off chance that I'll be able to keep my eyes open.
There are four elevators at the Shalom hotel. One is a service elevator that holds three people, max. The other three each hold about seven people, maybe 8. One of them, on Shabbat, is a Shabbat elevator that stops at every floor on the way up to 17, and every floor on the way back to the Lobby. Of the other two, one usually broken. The fun begins because you never know when the elevator is going to break and who will be in it when it does.
What this Shabbat also means though is that I'm due to leave Israel soon. As always happens, I'm inevitably caught between being ready to go back, and not ready to leave. I'm cramming in a few last meetings this morning and Sunday, and yesterday was pretty packed as well. Still left to do, buy rugelach to bring back to the office and deliver the plant that I was given for Shabbat a few weeks ago to Esther's parents.... And drop off my laundry so that I have something clean to wear tonight.
The good news is that I'll have 4 hours in the airport before I can even check my luggage in on Sunday night so I'll get a lot of work done in the off chance that I'll be able to keep my eyes open.
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