Terrorist Arabs

I would love to update my blog with all the cool things that I've been up to.

Yet, I cannot.

I suppose it is because of the guilt of knowing that in Israel ARAB TERRORISTS are doing there best to annihilate Jewish people.

I have the guilt of knowing that Israel is under constant barrage of bombs.

Guilt of knowing that families are currently sleeping in bomb shelters.

So, I suppose this update will have to do. Till there is something worthy of writing about.

Parents' House

Have you ever noticed, that while you love your parents very much, there comes a time that you realize that you can never move back with them again.
For some people this realization comes sooner rather than later; for me, it comes now 2 1/2 years into marriage.
Love them, miss them daily, can't ever live with them again :-)

Responsibility for one’s own actions

I once watched a very interesting program in regards to debt. It was a show based on how to get out of debt. The show found people in debt and provided them with a financial adviser who gave them a plan on how to get out of the situation that they were in. The show centered around three big points; how these people got into debt, what kind of lives they are living to continue their debt problem, and how they are doing nothing about it. Out of the two cases that I watched there was a re-occurring theme. The people in debt felt that they deserved a much better life style than they could actually afford. In one situation it was a female who had graduated university with a student debt of forty thousand dollars. She was able to find a job right out of school which paid fifty thousand dollars a year. With her new found job she decided that she must move out, because her style was slightly cramped living with her parents. This is how her cycle started. Then, for her new job she needed a new wardrobe which added another thousand dollars to the debt. Then she needed to furnish her apartment, the first and last month rent, security deposit and other miscellaneous fees all added another ten thousand dollars to her debt. At the point of the show she had been working for three years and getting nowhere fast. She was always stressed out, and at her ropes end. When the financial adviser came on the scene she started asking questions about her credit cards and any other debts that may exist. There was another couple thousand on credit cards that this girl owed. So, the financial adviser sat down with her and explained to her that if she ever wants to get out of debt that is currently eating her alive she needs to make some changes right away. Some of the things she listed were: not going out as much, not eating out at all, not buying new clothes or shoes for at least a year and possibly moving back home. To most of these suggestions the girl agreed. Then there was another little part where the financial adviser said that she should find a second job to relieve some stress from her and for her to be able to have some kind of spending money. Needless to say the girl did not agree to that. With the plan that the financial adviser made, it would take the girl three years to pay off her credit cards, and her student loans. This would be a hard three years with no savings account and no luxuries, everything going towards paying down the debt. I would love to see if she was able to accomplish that and to see what she is doing now.
Most of the advice given by the financial adviser was good sound practical advice that I agreed with and so did her client. Yet, it seems like if this was so practical and the girl could really understand it and see it, why was she not doing it earlier?
Are some of us like that girl? We know what we should be doing, and what would make financial sense but we are so stuck in our routines and in our own worlds that we do not do it. Are we all running the risk of being so in debt as this girl was just because we are in a routine? Does tightening your belt have a much different meaning now then it did years ago? Do people in general not know how to ‘tighten belts’?
It seems that we live in a very interesting era. We live in a time unlike any other before. Everyday people live as king’s used to live back 3-4 hundred years ago. We live not only to survive but also to derive pleasure. People don’t just want to work to survive; they want to like their work. People want different things out of their lives and therefore choose work that compliments that lifestyle. People have more clothing than they can wear in a month, more shoes than they can wear in a week. In the olden days only the kings and queens were allotted such luxuries. Yet, in our society it is no longer a luxury it is now a necessity.
Is it that we no longer discern what a luxury is and what a necessity is? Or is it that it varies from person to person and there is no more a general definition of those words.

Feeling the Blah

So, what if generally you are a very happy person?
What if some days you are not so happy? What if some days you look around and realize that the weather outside is frightful :( ? What if some days you know you should be happy but you are not, and there is not a really good reason for it?

What if some day's you realize, you might not have that plan B you were hoping for?
That plan B sucks as much as plan A.

Not to be a copy cat, but...

What if this, is as good as it gets?

America (the UN-Loved)

Some of my readers may know that I am Canadian, therefore I'm going through the immigration process to become a citizen in the United States of America.
Part of the process is to be finger printed. I had to go for my second finger printing appointment today. What a difference from the other two times when I was at that office.
The other times it was packed. If you came early, to bad you had to wait for your appropriate time. Then, you would have to wait a good hour to hour and a half to be seen! Today I was in and out in 15 minutes.
There was no line, there were just the workers and two other people in line!
Well, what could it possibly be? Could it be that nobody wants to come into America anymore? Could it be the lack of jobs?
I spoke to the lady who was finger printing me. She said that there has been a substantial drop in traffic that comes through that office. She also said that it could be the season.
I think its probably a little bit of both, although I've got my money riding on the awful economics of this country!

How sad :-(

Job Fair

If anybody out there has ever been to a job fair then they will not be as surprised as I was with this particular culture. This was my first job fair. Hopefully my last.
What interests me is that the people that are interviewing for positions are so glum, boring and depressed. Then they go into a tiny room and become vibrant, enthusiastic, optimistic candidates. Its really an amazing phenomenon to watch.
I personally found it draining and for the most part a complete waste of my time.

Here's hoping that America will stop this downward spin.

Snow and Jackets

I don't understand why people wear jackets and then not zip them up?
Why bother even wearing a jacket if you are going to keep it open? Honestly what is the point? Just go out without a coat on, that is exactly what you are doing by not zipping it up in the first place.
Then again the people who are not wearing your jackets...where is it that you think you live? This is not exactly FLORIDA!
Ah well, as long as everyone is happy.

Happy December everyone :-)

Bonus!

As an employee you are an asset not an expense.
Not only is this true for us, it is also true for people that we employ.

Now, remember the holiday season is upon us. Like you, everyone likes getting bonuses. Keep this in mind this time of year.

Hair Cut

Today I cut my own hair for the first time in my life.
Quite an experience.
I'm actually thrilled that I did it myself.
Yay independence!!!

Do you HAVE to work?

I am surprised by the amount of people who like to question my family's financial status by the question "do you HAVE to work"? At times I am appalled. Other times I'm surprised. We live in a world where two incomes is the normality not the rarity. That is why I am surprised to hear these questions being asked of me.
Maybe people feel like it is no big deal to ask if I really have to work. Yet, for me I wonder what do they really mean? Do they mean: "hey are you just killing time working on your career before you have kids and drop it all?" Or do they mean: "hey, why should you work, clearly your husband works, is that not enough money for you two?", or is it possible that they are saying: "common, everyone knows that your work is silly, why don't you just give up and be a stay at home wife!?"
Well in any way that it is meant, I am totally shocked an appalled. Firstly, if I haven't told you otherwise, my household income is none of your business. Secondly, I, like you have obligations and clearly those include me working! Thirdly, why are you sticking your nose into my business!!! If I have shared with you that I am currently unemployed and looking for a job, then what I am sharing with you is that if you can help me out that would be great! If you can't, then hey know that we are available for Shabbat meals!
Its not that I am wishing hate upon people that are interested in helping me out, I'm just shocked an appalled at the level of intimacy that people are willing to go into. Of course I cannot respond with none of your business. Or, are you kidding me, are you really asking me this! I usually respond in a clear, level headed way "We are great till the unemployment runs out, then not so much". My husband on the other hand had a great idea, "why don't you just tell people that you wouldn't need to work if they would like to pick up the tab for our mortgage". Even though I do agree with him, I still think it's kind of rude to answer this way, though these people have no mind about how rude they are in digging into my life.
I am in shock that this is even a question in our day in age where most women I know work. Some work because they have to. Some work because they want to participate in the family finance and want some extra cash to kick in. Some work because of the combination of those two reasons. I am sure there are many, many more reasons why women and men for that matter work. Yet, I do not think that it is anyone's business which of these reasons is true for me!

Saving money on Grocery Shopping

Is it possible that I like to save money, but that I like to do it with dignity!!!
Today I was in a produce store which everyone in our community claims is just so much cheaper than any other produce store. Well today I offer proof that it is not! Not only that, I feel that I have gone to a third world country and had to fight for food and then returned back to America.
It was truly an awful experience. I saw a man (one of the employees) with a razor blade cutting his nails by the bananas. Needles to say, we are not eating bananas this week! WHAT IS THAT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I was a little sick, thank g-d my friend was there and distracted me and told me its okay just keep going!
The service was less than expected of any store, let alone one located in North America. I had a box of chocolates that I bought thrown accidentally to the floor by the check out clerk. WHAT IS THAT! I was not so pleased.
Also, the quality of the produce is by far much worse than the 'other' produce store that people say is more expensive. In fact you really have to dig for what you want to buy.
In the end this store doesn't save you money at all.
You waste time trying to find something worth buying. You waste time trying to get anywhere because it is packed with people, with small aisles that are jammed packed.
In the end I saved no money at all. I spent exactly the amount that I usually spend in my favorite produce store. In my favorite produce store, it is always a positive experience. I can find good quality produce for decent prices. Not only that, but the workers are polite and diligent at their jobs, and none play with razor blades in public view!
Can you all guess where I'm not going to any time soon???

Instant Gratification

Coming from a generation of must have now, it is no wonder that I too as carefully as I try not to still fall into a cycle of Instant Gratification. Otherwise known as money wasting at its best!
When you want something quick and good you don’t want to wait for it. You don’t want to think about it, you just want it now. As children we were taught patients, as young adults that lesson is lost.
Yesterday falling under the MUST have it now category we went out for dinner. Was it a satisfying dinner? It was okay. The food was Okay, the service was okay, and it was marked with an okay feeling. Not one of hunger or desire or one of fullness and satisfaction it was just okay. For some people the price we paid for this feeling of blandness may not be that significant for others it might be overwhelming. For me it was a complete waste of money due in part to being an Instant gratification mongrel! I feel that I could have fed my family for a week on fruits and vegetables for what we paid for one meal. I feel that I have wasted! Maybe if the food was fantastic and the service incredible I would feel justified in spending money on it. But, since I’ve awoken with a feeling of guilt and started to speculate that truly it was not money well spent.
So, I embark on this new journey of not trying to be instantly gratified. I will try to make time for cooking, and preparing even more than what I do now. I will try not to run out of everything so that we have an excuse to go out. Most of all, I will try to learn the art of patience.

Sushi

In keeping with my new resolve of healthy food/diet/exercises I have decided to make sushi for dinner. :) OKAY so its not the BEST food but its not awful, and I saved a ton making it from scratch on my own! At the local store sushi that I made would cost $8.99 for 16 pieces, my cost $1.80 for 16 pieces!

:-)

Here are some pictures:

Food Prices vs. Dieting vs. Working out vs. Coupons

I have now been unemployed for one week and three days. During this time I have found that food prices are just ridiculous. What is more ridiculous is everything else that is introduced into our daily diet.
My trip to the local grocery store proved very entertaining today. The prices of Kosher meat and poultry are now even more expensive than they were three months ago. Yet, when I lean over to the non kosher meet section I see that their prices have increased marginally compared to ours. Of course this has something to do with Mr. Rubashkin’s plant closing down just a few months ago. Now that there is no competitive pricing it seems to be perfectly fine to charge $5.99/lb for Chollent meat that was just a few months ago $3.99/lb. Chollent meat is typically the worst cut of meat possible, next to the roast beef that is $6.99/lb seems absurd to even buy. So, let us move onto the chicken that was $1.99/lb and is now $2.99/lb. See where I am going here?
Let’s move down the “Kosher Aisle” which is always my favorite aisle in the store. There is approximately 75% candy in this aisle, 10% sauces, 15% actual food. Now, it ALWAYS bothers me that the largest part of the aisle is dedicated to things which should be COMPLETELY ELIMINATED from every day diet. That being said I do buy sweets. Not sure how much longer I will continue to buy them. A favorite snack costs $2.59 for 150 grams. Putting that in perspective, for one pound of candy it would cost $7.80. Now, why is it that there are two choices of chicken each being $2.99/lb which is a BARGAIN compared to the mass amount of variety that we have of candy which costs $7.80/lb. Is anybody working this out? These are not even the expensive candies, they are actually moderately priced!
My husband and I have had many disagreements on how much money we spend on food. I have tried to cut back but obviously I am not doing a good enough job, since we can’t seem to get our food bill down. Now, I am determined. I am determined to cut our food bill down in half. I think we can do it. The delicacies that we used to buy will now be eliminated. No more $6.99/250g for cheese, no more $2.59/150g for candy. It will all be focused on the essentials needed, and of course me cooking the food and baking the desserts. I am tired of watching my hard earned money get literally eaten away. I’m DONE!
Now, comes the bit about dieting. With all these new resolves you knew this one was coming. We are now dieting. Our diet is of course for our health. We are fat. We need to be slimmer and now that I am determined and driven by food prices I believe diet fits in perfect. No, it does not mean that we will be eating tofu for substitutions, because that cost $9.0/lb, that is no substitution. We will eat what is in budget, and good for our health.
Working out is a mandatory part of the saving money process. You may ask how? Well, a Jewish community center membership which entitles you to separate men’s and women’s work out rooms, a wonderful pool with separate swimming is $300/year which is $25/month for a family of two. So if you eliminate 5 bags of candy (150grams in each bag), you have paid for your membership and of course your health benefits.
One last little trick to saving money, just because you have a coupon does not mean that you need to use it. There are times when coupons are cut with the best of intentions. Yet, if you do not need the product which you are about to buy with a coupon, you have wasted not only your time in cutting out the coupon but your money in buying a useless product.
Think before you buy.

Awesome city!!!

Yesterday I had to go downtown to meet with a placement agency. I had so much fun!
My experience getting to the agency was so nice. I was holding a map and every time I stopped to look for street names there were at least two people asking me if they could help me find my way. SO NICE!
The agency was good too, I want to take pictures and post them next time. Its actually really fancy and for me its free to use their fancy facility.
Woooohooooo
Now, all I need is a job.

Fitness & Health

What can I say, I'm back to it.
I like working out. I like spending time in nature. So, while the weather is nice I'm on my bike. Today I rode, 4 miles!!! Is that not great! The first half of my journey was nice and easy with the wind at my back pushing me along. Coming back though, was nice and hard. Still it was nice.
I recommend that everyone take advantage of this weather! As of Friday we are supposed to get snow. So enjoy...I am :-)

Fall Day

Just to let everyone know that cool stuff totally happens in big cities here are a few pictures of me out on a walk around my neighbourhood in a large urban city this is not a suburb!!!

Taking responsibility/being held responsible

The latest news of the brutal slaying of Jennifer Hudson's Mother, brother and nephew has gotten a lot of publicity over the past few days. Everyone understands that the reason that there has been so much publicity is because she is such a huge star. There have been many speculations of what happened and why it happens, but in reality there are no real answers.
A radio talk show host that I sometimes listen to on 96.3FM brought up a real interesting point; "people need to take responsibility of their actions. If you have a child you love it, nourish it and be a parent to it. Is it so wrong to say that a family has to be a MOTHER and a Father, is it so wrong in today's society to say that what was in the old was not so bad or wrong? Understandably so there are single parents out there and I salute them every day they do a hard job and they try their best. I'm talking about the ones that have kids out of wedlock out of a one night stand, out of other situations where they are left alone to raise the child(ren). A child needs a father needs a mother, needs a family! Why is that so wrong to say and considered so backwards!".
Wow, I actually think he said it well. I'm kind of surprised that someone in today's media bombardment on women power and other such notions was able to say such a remark and not lose his job. Well, we'll see about that latter part.
I think that some of his statement is very true. Children need roll models and not Mailey Cyrus, or Tom Cruise. In the Jewish/frum circles I feel this stands true as well. Although there is nothing wrong with looking up to a great Rav, yet your parents should be your roll models! Your parents should be your guidance councillors and your advisers. They are to be as big part of your life as anything else that is so crucial when you are a teenager. I think more emphasis on family life, and parenting should be done in the frum community, rather than emphasis on what has gone wrong in the community. Changing this mentality would be one step and one family at a time.
Although I didn't grow up frum, my parents were a huge part of my life. They were not my friends they were my parents and they tried to do what was right for me. None of this garbage about being friends with your kids...none of that. When they needed to they disciplined me when they needed to they rewarded me for good behaviour when they saw fit. They were and are a great motivation, inspiration and leadership in my life and in my family values and family life. Even now, I see them as my parents and not as my friends. I must respect them first and everything else second. Do I agree with everything they did? Absolutely not. Do I think that they tried and they gave it their all? Absolutely yes.
Overall, my point is if something is not how you like it or how you see fit, as a parent it is your JOB to fix it. It is your job to do right by your child and not to be their friend first. It is your job to raise a good member of society and community. It is not up to the child to raise themselves to be good, to be caring or to be anything positive.

My Views on Simchas Torah

We daven in a small shul “where everyone knows your name”. All the kids played together, all the women sat together and watched as all the men danced around the bema with the torahs. It was honestly an awesome site to behold. All the men were accommodating to the children that wanted to ride their shoulders and be thrown in the air at the appropriate times. So, men who had more than one child could be assured that all their children had a great time. There were smiles, laughs and a great time to be had by all.
The bidding for the honors was fun as well. In our shul women participate and I love that. Since my husband doesn’t really enjoy bidding and playing the game I am the one that does it cause I LOVE IT. I love the bidding process. I think it’s fun and exciting and really cool. In fact a few of my girlfriends with the same story we have a great time together, bidding against each other, and sometimes even our own husbands! Simchas Torah night we won ata horata and the Hakafot. I LOVED IT! I loved watching my husband dance around with the torah. It felt like I too was dancing with the torah. AWESOME!
A little background: when I was single I also liked Simchas Torah but I never really LOVED IT. Reasons: 1. I didn’t have anyone to watch out for 2. I didn’t have that community dynamic that exists in our shul now where everyone is happy for everyone else and it’s a group rejoice 3. I was just not into it.
So, overall appraisal of the holidays: Rosh Hashanah was fun, family came in so it was really good. It is a more somber time so it’s a little more subdued then Sukkoth, and Simchas Torah. Sukkoth, fun, exciting, and incredible as per usual…I love Sukkoth. I trapped a yellow jacket I think for the first time so that was pretty cool! Then I accidentally let it go, which didn’t matter too much because then it started to rain :-). Shmini Atzeret and Simchas Torah, fun, exciting and exhausting because of how much fun and excitement was had. Overall, incredible, I’ll miss the holidays till next year.
And now, let the dieting resume :-)

Cleaning Out the Office

It is actually sadder than what I had expected.
Next week is my official last week at work. So, I decided to clean out my office yesterday and just wrap up with the little things next week. Well, it was no easy task. Although I didn't necessarily like my job all that much I did love the people. We all go along well, we had awesome laughs and we had a great time at work. I actually liked coming to work for I would get to see my friends. This I will miss. It took a few trips to the car to get my fish tank(yes the fish is still alive), my plant (one step closer to death), and some heavy personal belongings out of the office. Now, all that is left is to surrender my badge, laptop and lab note book. Sad.
I do however look forward to bigger brighter and closer(drive) opportunities. I hope that I will be able to find a place with great co-workers, a great atmosphere, and exciting work.
Yet, still a little piece of me has been left at this location that I called work for a while. Sigh.
Now, I shall go make soup with matzo balls and it'll all be better :-).
Have a Good Shabbos Eveyone.

Weddings?

My Mom is a genius, and now the story:

Over the holidays I was blessed with my family coming in and spending time with me. We had good food, good conversations, and good discussions too. One of our many discussions started to revolve around the policies being implemented (or at least the politics that keep talking about implementing policies) in Lakewood on weddings, how much money to spend on them, and the like.
In the midst of the conversation one young man chimed in on how he feels the rules for wedding are fine and if they were to be instituted it would be good for the overall community. My mom comes back with “sure it’s a good idea, but it’s been tried you know, communism. I’ve lived it. It doesn’t work”. That is when I just looked around and saw the awe on everyone’s faces. I LOVE MY MOM. GENIUS!

This morning driving to work (got to love the one hour commute) on the radio station 105.9 FM the morning announcer was talking about how shocked he was at the price of weddings. One of his co workers has just gotten married and the prices are astronomical compared to when he got married 4 years ago. Now, this is what I’m talking about!!! Good conversation!

The fact that weddings cost a lot of money is not a surprise. Yet, they cost a lot of money no matter who you are or what you believe. Weddings are expensive! Yes, because we are frum Jews and need kosher food it costs more. Though, on closer thought there are lots of areas where we can save a lot more than someone that is not keeping kosher, or Jewish, or not frum. For example there is what is known as a dress gamach. Literally a wedding dress costing thousands of dollars can cost you the price of dry cleaning it $250. Flowers, there is a gemach for center pieces, the only thing you have to do is give them back in the same condition you got them. Wow, there is thousands of dollars saved. I understand that these may not be ideal but they are ideas on how to save money.
It seems that in any organized activity clubs, sports, organized religion…when you get many people involved it sort of turns into high school but for grown ups. It’s who drives the best cars, who lives in the biggest houses, etc. Then you get people who are crying the whole time that its not fair and that ‘something’ should be done to make it fair. So, you get principals of the ‘community’ walking around implementing rules that should never be implemented.
Whatever happened to people knowing their limits? What happened to people trying through hard work, dedication and perseverance to get to where they want to go? It seems that now instead of working hard to get somewhere you want to be, you can just sit back, accumulate lots of debt and cry really hard about it, get a group of people to cry with you and then bam it’s changed for how you want it.
I think people are used to societal hand outs…thank you to the government. For example in the United States of America, Barak Obama who is running for the position of president wants to implement new reforms that give people tax breaks. He wants to give ‘stimulus packages’ to those who are not even paying taxes as to encourage them to spend and grow. This is a great example of not helping the people but truly hurting them. Like the Roman’s did in their time when you help people not work and give them money for game you will pay for it later, as the Romans found out when their Empire fell.
Do I think by putting in specific rules how to and how not to make a wedding will help? Absolutely it will NOT. Do I think that eventually if good leadership is not placed the “empire” will fall, absolutely it WILL.

Currently the world is lacking leadership. We have nobody that will stand up to the people and take action, take responsibility and lead by their word. I suppose that is why we pray for Moshiach.
I think once you start telling people how, and where they can spend their hard earned money you will run into bigger problems then the tuition crisis, wedding crisis, shidduch crisis. There will be many people who will become un-happy and will take themselves and their money and will leave to a place that does not dictate to them. Why should everyone have the same rules? That is not how it was thousands of years ago. Why should everyone be made to live the same lifestyle? If we are so keen on copying shtetyl life, well that was not how it was in the Shtetyl’s either.

How to deal with Law breakers!

Terrorists!

This is how Egypt deals with Palestinians. I personally love it.

Yes its sad that people died, yet look at the caliber of people that died. They are smugglers. They are corrupting their own country in order to profit on other peoples continuous misery.
Yet, this story and others that relate to how Egypt deals with Palestinians I feel shows exactly how the Arab world feels about Palestine. They (Palestinians) are only tolerated by their Arab brothers because they have the ability to destroy there ultimate enemy, Israel. If not for there one and only task in there miserable existence, the Palestinians would not be tolerated at all. They would probably go through a genocide and become extinct.

Yet again proof that Palestinians do not deserve their own country. How could they manage a whole country when they can't even manage a small aspect of it (Gaza).

The fact is, there are constant reminders (bulldozer in Jerusalem, suicide bombers, etc) that Palestinians cannot be trusted for peace, security or anything else that they say they will uphold.

They have not lived up to any promise that they have ever made to Israel or the rest of the world. So, the question remains: Why are they allowed ANY freedoms at all.

There is no way of dealing with these animals other than by shipping them to a huge territory of land so that they can live happily with their brothers, Iran, Iraq, Libya, or Egypt. Yet none of their charitable brothers want to take them, and the Jewish people are stuck with this on going war, between feuding brothers.

Home Made Challah!

If anybody ever doubts my baking abilities here is some proof!

Yesterday, I finally, FOR THE FIRST TIME ON MY OWN!!! Made Challah! I made enough to make a brocha, which turned out to be 8 Challah’s! Now, it may not impress everyone, but then again that was not my goal. My goals were to do a mitzvah, make tasty bread for Rosh Hashanah, and feel empowered.
I am not sure why, but when making Challah, I totally felt empowered! I felt as though NOW, I could really do anything I set as a goal in the kitchen. Now, it must be noted that this was not the first time I have ever baked. In fact I make desserts all the time, but for some reason that is unexplainable this was truly amazing!
Of course we have to taste it and see how it came out. Yet, even with the unknown of what it tastes like, I totally felt like a woman taking care of her family!
Anyhow, I love it, I hope that I keep doing it, and I’ll report back on the taste :-)

P.S= totally worth staying up till 1am to finish!!!

Sales

I know this post is a little later than all the ones I've read on blogger sites about the astronomical price of school supplies. Well, today I was at super Target. The greatest store of all! School supplies were 75% off. Dorm supplies, including bedding was 30-75% off. Literally a steal. I bought a few things I need for the house for the low, low prices (paper for $0.12 for 150 sheets).
Just a thought;
Why not shop for next year...THIS YEAR at the discounted rates?
For sure prices are great. How much does paper change? Or binders? Or other school supplies?

That would be my money saviour tip of the day.

Enjoy.

Is that real?

This question seems to follow me and my purse around everywhere we go. It happens to be that I have a nice purse. What I can’t figure out is: do other people with nice purses get approached and asked: “Is that real”? Or do I just emit a vibe that says…nope that can’t be real she wouldn’t be wearing such a real purse.
Usually I just say…”I don’t know” and leave it at that. On Saturday night in the parking garage somebody asked me this particular question and I said “I don’t know”. They could not let it go. How could I not know? What is going on that I don’t know if my purse is real or not, and on it went.

Then I realized: I DON”T CARE and excused myself and walked away.
What I still don’t understand is how people have the audacity to come up to a relative stranger and ask such a question? When I’m wearing my engagement ring do people come up to me and ask: “Is that real”….NO, they don’t. So why is it appropriate to do that when I’m wearing my purse?
So frustrating!

Neighbors!

This blog is one of those that my husband calls Emotional Rants.

Well, here it goes anyway. As I was doing laundry today I was headed off by a neighbor who apparently thought their laundry is more important. What happened is that they took out my laundry from the washer (once the cycle was complete) and put it on top of the drier and then put their laundry into the washer.

Now here is where the problem lays. I do not want anyone touching my laundry. AND OF COURSE THIS WAS ALL Personal laundry which for me is sooo much worse than if it were just sheets or something of that nature.

To say that I was livid would be somewhat of an understatement. I knocked on my neighbors doors I yelled and then fumed and of course nobody confessed. SO, I had to resort to waiting for the culprit to come and get their wash from the washer to the drier. Of course I was fuming the whole time because I would have to re wash all of my stuff.
So, I sat there really aggravated, and fuming thinking of all the things I could do with the persons laundry and all the things I would tell them of what I think about them and all that good stuff.

Finally their laundry finished and I took it all out and put it in their basket and left it on top of the washer and drier like they did to me! Then, of course I put all my stuff back in to be re washed.

Well by the time that I had come back to my house to drop off all of the detergent supplies I saw who the neighbor was (I had a suspicion) that it was this particular neighbor.
We happen to have a younger guy living in the building who happens to be a little bit sick mentally. He is fully functioning just not completely there. He lives alone and I often see him in the elevator. He is always friendly.

So, I came up to him and with as much un hateful, un resenting, un scathing tone I could muster told him “Hey Neighbor, next time you see my stuff in the washer let me know and I’ll transfer it over to the drier. That way you won’t have to do it for me, and I won’t have to rewash all my stuff”. He was like: “Oh yah, sure no problem. I didn’t see your number on the display there”. So I said yah, some of us put it there for this exact reason. So that if someone else wants to use the washer and drier they can just come and knock on the door of whoever is currently using it and then the problem is solved”. He said: Oh okay. I said thank you, he said thank you and that was it.

In the end I learned two things:
1. Judge people favorably (my good friends favorite saying to me)
2. I need time to think and then act. As proven today I had time to think, then when I acted it was not as bad as it would have been had he opened his door and I would have unleashed the wrath!

Activism!

Driving home from work yesterday I was interested in a little talk radio. Since all the FM talk stations are full of garbage in the afternoon I tuned into AM 560 with Michael Medved as the talk show host. Usually I like what he is talking about and yesterday was the case as well. His show was focused on the fact that Cultural decisions matter. That what we do as a culture and what an individual does to fit into a certain culture s(he) wants to belong to, matters. Some of his examples included: that some people choose to send their kids to private school, others give donations to their spiritual organizations and other still do nothing. His main point was that Cultural decisions have more impact on your day to day life then politics do.

Well, I could not agree more! It happens to be that as orthodox Jews we have some cultural decisions that are expected of us. One of these decisions is sending children to private schools. Another cultural expectation is for women to wear shaitals (they range anywhere from $10-4000+). Now, let’s think about politics. Will it affect me one way or another if McCain gets elected over Obama? Absolutely not. Both are crooks as all politicians are. They will both implement “changes” and stimulus packages that are dictated to them by the house and senate. So will it effect me personally, maybe but on a much smaller level than if all of a sudden beef Jerky became Kosher!

How then are cultural decisions impacting my life? Well, one other interesting point that Michael Medved had was that if you are poor in America it is your own decision to stay poor in America. He mentions cultural and societal pressures and influences that will keep you down and will keep the poor, poor. At first I disagreed with him, and then I thought about being an Orthodox Jew and what that entails culturally. Then I went back on some recent discussions I’ve had with a variety of different people, and some interesting blogs that I’ve read about TUITION!!! That is when what Mr.Medved said started to become absolutely true. People in our communities complain about tuition. They complain that they cannot get on top because they have to pay tuition, no matter how little the amount it is still larger than public school which is FREE. They complain that they can no longer maintain any resemblance of the life style that they once had because these tuition bills are burdening them and are really keeping them down. So then here it is, is it a cultural decision of the orthodox Jews to keep people poor? Is it a cultural decision to work hard, and then still have to tell your child no to something that you would rather say yes to if you did have a disposable income? Is it that we as a nation in America and in other parts of the world other than Israel, are doing this to ourselves? Well, according to Michael Medved, yes we are. And I for one agree with him. As orthodox Jews we cannot send our children to PUBLIC school because of all of the negative influences, yet private tuition is not something that everyone can readily afford. What are the options? On the blogosphere there is talk about people who are at their ropes end, unable to stand it any longer have pulled their children out of private school and have put them into public school with tutors on the sides for Jewish education. Eliminating the stress of paying tuition, lifting that weight has strengthened their perspective on life and in some cases has saved marriages that were very fragile from all of the financial stress. Not everyone is built to be able to stand the stress of being in debt and unless you can afford tuition for all of your children it seems(1) that the average working middle class Orthodox American is in debt.

It seems that Americans once upon a time had an aura of Activism. America in general stood for something and somebody! Today a statistic on the Michael Medved show said that 78% of College aged Americans believe that recycling is a form of Activism! Oi is what I have to say to that. Yet, at least there is some understanding of doing something for someone else, or for something else such as the environment. So, if I were conducting a poll: what would the average Orthodox Jewish person say activism is? And, what are they making a stance for? What do you think they will say?

1. From my personal experience which includes reading blogs, papers, and speaking to people on a daily basis. Papers include: Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, CNN.com, MSN.com, bbc.com.

Cleaning!

I’ve decided that no matter what, today I have to put up a post.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure what to write about. I have many ideas, and conflicting thoughts and they are one jumbled mess. So, to a lot of people’s disappointment this is just going to be one of “those” posts.
In preparations for Rosh Hashanah I’ve decided I want the house to be all done up. Meaning, the frames that my husband was so nice to hang up two weeks ago…I WANT TO PUT PICTURES IN THEM! I want all and I mean all of the frames that I wanted to put up for the last year to be UP! No exceptions. I want everything I don’t want thrown out and lastly I DON”T WANT CLUTTER! I maybe an obsessive little cleaner but I am not sure for whatever reason this have magnified 100 fold. I think it could be that I no longer have a job to keep my mind occupied with so while I am at work I think of all of the wonderful things I could be doing at home! I have been on a de-cluttering attack since we got back from Detroit. This weekend this peeked with me completely rearranging the guest bedroom….ah perfection (NOT). AND WHY is it not perfection, because I have not put up the pictures for that room! Oh, but wait I am so into this that I even want to attack the basement…possibly this weekend!
You see I really feel it’s because my family doesn’t visit enough. I need to get everything done the way that I want it before they come for Rosh Hashanah and then they won’t come back probably till next Rosh Hashanah so they won’t see any improvements that I do afterwards, so I feel like I need to rush all of the improvements into the next week an a half!
You may be thinking to yourself…how decorating can be such a monumental task for this girl. AND I answer with…ARE YOU KIDDING ME!
It’s not all about decorating! It’s about cleaning, organizing, cleaning some more it’s all about a house that you can eat off the floors and has no clutter.
Am I close to achieving that, well maybe? Yet, every time I walk into the office (the epitome of all things bad in the world of cleanliness) I feel as though it sets me back about 100%
Yet, I will try to persevere, I will try to improve, I will try ever so hard not to go crazy about it and realize…hey at least it’s better than some other people’s houses. Yet the bottom line remains: “If Rifki jumped off the bridge would you”? My answer was always no, therefore just because someone else is all cluttered and dusty does not mean that I have to be that way too!
On that note, I’m going to leave work and run 100 errands before Ice cream and dinner.
With two weddings on the horizon BEFORE ROSH HASHANNA! I urge everyone to stay tuned for much cooler posts to come…

Calling your attention

Just calling attention to something disturbing that I've read on a few posts. Here are a couple links to the situation with Dr. Rabbi Twersky and him stepping down as group leader for special task sexual abused victims in the frum community. Apparently, he and mainly his family were threatened to the point where he felt that he needs to step down.
I am truly appalled by this. How dare people threaten a man that dedicates his life to helping people over come vicious crimes that were committed to them.
This link from Rabbi Horowitz is interesting take a read. I am shocked!
My source was the blog wofishmusings, with this post.
I guess no matter what environment we live in we always have to be on the guard and on the look out for the bad guys!

Dry Cleaning

As some of my readers know I am interested in finance. So of course when a topic such as dry cleaning comes up I have a great deal of input with numbers and figures.

While talking to my mom I mentioned that my terrific husband was steaming our clothes (sort of like ironing only with a way cooler set up). Anyhow, she said that sometimes I am wrong to just wash my clothing and that really I should dry clean some items more often. So that’s when I get all on the offensive. Here are my calculations: I buy my husband a shirt (usually at T.J maxx or the like for approximately $20/$30 he says that we pay less than $20 I say we pay in between but for this example we’ll take $20 a standard amount per white shirt. He wears between two and three white shirts within a standard week (usually only for Shabbat, but sometimes there is another function). So, I took three as a standard number. So, if I were to take his three white shirts to be dry cleaned for one week I would pay $2.29 per item times 3 items $6.87. That would be for one week. Therefore the three shirts would pay for themselves after being dry cleaned approximately 9 times. That would mean that if I were to dry clean every week three shirts in two months the dry cleaning bill would equal the price of the three shirts, after that it would (naturally) exceed the price.
SO, here is my argument. Why not WASH your shirts with bleach (which is what they do at the dry cleaners too), until they are no longer in wearable condition and then buy a new shirt. Since we of course follow this rule, my husband has been wearing the same $20 shirts for the past two years and we have not replaced any yet. Of course we have bought more shirts, but we have yet to throw any out. So that means not only do I save because I wash them with all the other laundry and not dry clean them I also continue to save because it is not an item that just falls apart. So instead of paying $714.48. on dry cleaning for two years, for three shirts I spent $60 and that was it!
This is not to say that nothing should be dry cleaned. We do dry clean. Just not on a weekly basis!

Traffic!!!

I would like to start out by saying that I have the out most respect for construction people. They have a very hard job. They battle all sorts of weather conditions, and all for the pleasure of people like me to have a 35 mile (55 km) commute a smooth ride.
Yesterday, while sitting in construction traffic for a little over 11/2 hours I noticed something that gave me a laugh. The traffic was bumper to bumper with no end in site. I could not only see the new road that was laid, but I could also count the groves in it. Then to my complete surprise and astonishment comes out the sign person (the person holding the sign to slow down, or stop as they need). She set up post on a nearby ramp that had approximately the same speed as the rest of us that were on the main highway… 0 mph/kmph. Even when my car did move the arrow indicating speed did not flinch I was still at 0 mph/kmph. Yet, here is this person setting up shop. I thought maybe she was going to let a truck through or something of that nature. BUT, nope I was wrong. She stood there with her sign saying SLOW down. I couldn’t help but laugh considering that out of all of the times to be actually holding this particular sign this was not one of the times.
Just a thought.

How I love Ambiguous statements.

Over the past weekend I had the privilege of celebrating many simchas within our community. During one such event I got caught up in a conversation that I usually hate having. Yet, my interest was tweaked by a friend that was truly looking for advice in a ‘scientific’ category.
We started talking about organic foods and how the world has become so evil in the use of plastics everywhere and all these other EVIL things that are going on. This is where my attention usually gets exhausted and I find something else to occupy myself with, then to keep listening/ participating in such rubbish. Yet, again a phrase yanked me right back into this particular conversation. One person was stating to another that they know someone that eats exceptionally healthy, and unfortunately they were diagnosed with cancer…BUT because they ate so healthy and were so strong they were able to battle their cancer and thank g-d beat it. Now, I know this particular story (and the person whom the conversation was about). It is true that this person eats exceptionally well, and it is true that this person’s cancer is in remission. However the problem in this story is not the out come but the way the facts were presented.
The fact is this person had chemotherapy and that is why the cancer is in remission. Weather or not this person’s diet helped get them back on their feet faster or not is a point of contention, maybe, maybe not.
Then there was another blanket statement that went something on the grounds of “well, people that eat organic food are just healthier and are able to fight off infections and diseases better”. That’s when I decided that all glove were off and made a few blanket statements as well, really just to see the reaction I would draw from the crowd. Some statements went on the grounds of: “well most people that I’ve seen articles written about drank like fish smoked like it was their job and were really fat and lived to be 100 years old, so how do you explain that”? At which point some around said well that’s ridiculous, as to which I said “no more ridiculous than your ambiguous most people that eat blah blah blah are healthier”. How do you know what they ate, and how it affected them? Give me hard core statistics to prove anything organic is better than anything that isn’t? Give me numbers, theories or anything other than complete speculation and ambiguity. Apparently after that people were thinking way to hard to respond with anything other than, “well you know it’s just a topic to talk about”. I guess I always think that if someone is going to bring up points then the least they could do is prove that those points are accurate.

Materialism

“And I am a material girl, living in a material world” (Song by Madonna)

It is interesting that sometimes a person can have an entire thought process stop, and change because of something they hear in the background noise that is playing on the radio. Yesterday as my 35 mile (55 km) commute from work to home was coming to its end I switched stations to one that was playing that song. It started me thinking on our world. With so much going on in our lives I started to get all introspective about that one line in the song.

Wikipedia says the following: Materialistic describes a person who is markedly more concerned with material things than with spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values; an adherent of materialism.

So, that got me to think about where I stand on the matter. Do we live in a material world? Yes. Am I materialistic? Not completely. Why do I say that I am not completely materialistic? That is really for a few reasons. I can’t deny the premise completely because a little bit does exist in my life. For example, I live in a condo. If I were completely non-materialistic then I would live in a tent in wilderness, or at least in an apartment. My condo has furniture in it; if I were completely non-materialistic then it would have boxes, crates, or bins. Yet, the part of me that says that I’m not really materialistic is viewing the fact that I drive an older car that I love and don’t really want a new one. Yet another part of me says that hey, lets get real I live in a condo not a house if I was truly materialistic then I would have to live in a house. So the train of thought got me going on another very interesting point: does the meaning of materialism depend on your society, on your social standing and in what environment you live in?

My answer is yes, it does. For one group of people being materialistic is having a home (be it a condo or a house), having new furniture, and driving a new car, or any variation of the list. For another group being materialistic is wearing a $3000 wig, rather than a $10 hat or a $2 snood. For yet another group being materialistic is driving a Mercedes or a BMW rather than an Acura or a Lexus. I believe it all maters on personal belief and the environment where you live, where you choose to live. An example that I’ve seen being mentioned on blogs around is having a cleaning lady versus not having a cleaning lady. To one family having a cleaning lady is part of the family budget and is living within their means, to another it is living out of their means and it is more a case of keeping up with the Joneses (or Goldberg’s).

The truth behind it all is that materialism really doesn’t bother me. I think mainly because I’ve never really cared what other people do or say and I do what is right for me and my family. I don’t look down on people that are materialistic and I don’t look down on people that are not. However, what I do absolutely hate are people who say that they are one thing but behave and act as though they are another. That I’ve always hated.
I just cannot understand why people can’t be honest with themselves. Why is it that they stand their and portray one image and then turn around and do something that this image definitely is not a portrayal off. It reminds of the people that just wear the garb to be a religious Jew. They wear a black hat, and act high and mighty but then on a date with a girl they ask her if she wants to go to a hotel room (yup, this happened to my friend, if you are wondering she said no and told the shudhan, I’m so proud of her). So it is on this level that I am speaking about. What is the purpose of being fake? I guess that is one that has to be explored further. Whatever you are, just be proud of yourself. We are not put on this world to act for others in a way that you think that they think that you should be acting, unless of course you are an actor.

Anniversary Part 2

Seriously,
When we went to Niagara Falls this past weekend to celebrate our anniversary we kept joking around that at night they turn off the falls....WHO KNEW WE WERE RIGHT!

Check this out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Dryniagara.jpg
Cool huh?

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! 2 years!!!

Wow,
Today is our two year anniversary. The time literally flew by. I remember our wedding day like it was yesterday. It was awesome. So much fun and excitement, truly great!
On that note, I figured that hopefully really soon I’ll have our wedding pictures done!
Yes it’s taken two years but hey we’ve done loads of things in that time. I rarely have time to sit and relax and just stare out the window. Yet, I am quickly running out of excuses. It’ll be done, g-d willing by the end of the week.

Corporate America

I am writing this post after saying that I will no longer write posts without sitting on the topic for a few hours. I’m writing now, in the heat of the moment. Sorry if it sucks.

As I’ve mentioned before I have been laid off. I will reserve what is known in America as a severance package if I’m a good little girl and keep coming to work till October 27. YET, today I am mad!
I have been given the fantastic ASSIGNMENT (YES LIKE IN SCHOOL NOT LIKE AT WORK) of SCANNING certificates of analysis into the computer and then logging them into our main system. Fantastic as this sounds its absolutely freaking ridiculous!
I have been demoted to the status of an intern. THANK YOU CORPORATE AMERICA.
Not only was I not given any deadlines but apparently when I was away on my lovely vacation I missed some backstabbing that was going on. APPARENTLY I’m NOT WORKING FAST ENOUGH FOR THESE CORPORATE LOSERS.
So naturally today I did nothing!
My manager who I happen to really hold in high esteem is awesome. He knows that this is all asinine, he thank g-d has my back. Literally the man went to bat for me. Nothing that he says or does past this point will make me not regard him with complete honor and awe. It is people like my manager that make Corporate America barable.
Yet, I keep thinking….should I work for a smaller company. Have less layers of management and have more obligations? All questions to be pondered, probably over a little wine.

Work?

Yes, I do have original thought...Well at least I think I do.

With all of the blogging articles that I've read about the Yishivish world and their inability to want to work I thought I would chime in...why not right?

On my latest visit 'home' I stopped by the local kosher food supermarket.

(SIDE NOTE) I truly do not believe that I am a racist. I work with people of all nationalities and beliefs and we all get along. (END SIDE NOTE)

Yet, when I walk into a KOSHER supermarket and don't know if its being held up by all the gangster looking thugs congregating near the cash registers I truly feel that this is a problem. I quickly realized that within the last 21/2 years since I've been gone and the last year since I've been inside this (the only all kosher supermarket) the employees have changed. The jobs that were occupied by frum women are now occupied by boys who look like thugs robbing the place. Maybe that has something to do with the location of this store. That is the dominant population of the area so I suppose hiring them to work in our store is okay. Yet, I just keep thinking none of the stores that I drive by that have the local population as the dominant user have any white, jewish, frum women working there. Nor do they have any notably jewish men working there. Is it just a case of discrimination from their part and us being the better nationality? Or maybe it is the fact that frum, jewish, women, feel that it is beneath them to work in a grocery store? Or maybe, just maybe the frum, jewish, women are tired of being overworked, under paid, and under appreciated? Or maybe its a nice combination of all the great reasons. In any way, I will no longer be so inclined as to visit this particular store and my family will not go either, Honestly I'm worried for their safety.

Good Friends Going Home :-)

Last night I had to go to a 'going away' party. I guess it was supposed to be sad, and it was for the people that are staying. My friends are making Aliya. I could not be happier for them. I think they are making a great move and the right decision for their family. This party for me anyhow, was a great opportunity to spend a little bit of time with my friends that I won't see for a while. Really, that is the only reason that I came in to come to this.
However, I am not one little bit upset that they are going home to Israel. I support them 150% and I think they are strong good people that will only be good for the land of Israel.
On the other hand, I'm really going to miss the convenience of just calling up my girl friend and saying: "hey, this Shabbat my husband and I are coming in for a friends wedding, can I stay at your house?" I'm going to miss the fact that in 5 hours ride I can be at her house playing with her kids. Yes it really does suck.... FOR ME!
I'm not saying that they won't miss everyone; in fact I know they will. I am sure that for the first while before new memories are starting to be made the old ones are going to be all they have and it will make them sad. Yet, I hope that while it will be sad for a little while, that they will persevere in their wishes, and dreams to come true.

The speech that I should have said last night, but was too much of a wimp (Cause as I right this I have tears in my eyes, and I know I would not be able to contain them last night)...

To my darling (my friends names),
My bracha to you is that you may be blessed with everything that is good. I pray that your new home will be welcoming, inviting and full of happy new memories. I hope that you will never forget us, and I hope that you will not be sad by us. I know that everything that we have been through, our lives together have made a difference and that will raise the bar to your expectation of friends. In your new home, you will find people that will make you comfortable to call at 3 in the morning, that your kids can call their friends and that you will be ale to call your friends. I hope you will smile, laugh and have great times as we had here. I hope that you will live your dreams and make us proud, make us proud that we let you leave us in order for you to fulfill your destiny (and the destiny of all Jewish people).
Trust me I know how hard it is to leave. Even though I didn't go every 1/2 of a 1/2 of a 1/2 of a distance that you went. I have faith that even though for the first little while, it will be hard for you, that you will make friends and that you will look back on this day and think...'man that was a hard time, but I'm so glad we did it, I can't imagine what it would have been like if we would have stayed'.
I wish for you, the best health, happiness, success, and peace at knowing that you did the right thing.
I love you both very much.
That would have been my speech.

On that note, here are some pictures to follow all this gushy stuff:

Being Home

I love being home. Nothing else beats it. My parents live about 300 miles away and it is quite hard for me to be this far apart from them. We try to come as much as possible which equates to about once a month in the summer and once every two months in the winter. With all that said...nothing beats coming home, and being at home.
Once upon a time I used to hate 'home'. I dreamed, schemed and planned to move from 'home' and the time that I did move couldn't have happened fast enough. I moved out I was 24 years old, almost 2 1/2 years ago. For some that age maybe one that is quite old to still be living at home, for others I was so young daring to do so much at such a young age. I was not moving to a couple blocks away I was moving to a big city (which I had dreamed off for 12 years). I was getting an apartment all by myself and starting a spectacular new job in my field. It was quite a lot all at once. Yet I welcomed it all! I was excited to be finally rid of this little city where I grew up. I was excited to be moving onto a different chapter in life, I was excited to be on my own!
Now 21/2 years later, I love the big city that I live in. I love my new friends, my new family, my new life. Yet, in the pit of my throat there is this little knot that starts to tighten when I come home. I get all weepy eyed looking at the places where people knew my name. I see how things have changed so much in such a short amount of time. And of course, I miss my house.
This is the same house that I used to hate. It was always to small, to jewish, to far away from everything I wanted to do. The bathroom was always too cramped, the kitchen with not enough room and the t.v's that were too old. Now, with so little time past yet so much experienced gained, so much more seen in the world, and so much more understanding and shall I say 'wisdom' that has come I see my parents house for what it truly is, HOME.
I now come in to what was my room and love it. There is something to be said with the familiar smells of my room. It is so very good. Something that I have missed. I now see the bathroom and think "I can throw a party in here for at least 10 people, how is it that I used to think that it was so small?" Ahhh yes, wisdom and experience, the cure for teenage years and under appreciating your parents. Now, I think I get it. Though I think that if I write another blog entry in 21/2 more years it may be full of other wisdom that I have gathered, I guess only time will tell that.
With all that, here are some pictures of something that I've missed and love so very much. These veiews are so much different then those of my youth. This house was branned new when my parents bought it in 1995. It had no grass, no life. Here in 2008 it stands so mightly with so much grass, and life :-)

Job Searching, self exploration.

Well I haven’t written in a while really because I’ve been concentrating on my own feelings and my own family.
Don’t get me wrong I really did want to get the severance package I really did want to get laid off; I know it sounds bad but I did. The truth is I didn’t think how it would feel to come into work for the next three months knowing that I have no job afterwards. I also don’t think I put in to much thought as to how it would feel not to have any projects assigned to be me, and the projects that were to be assigned to me would be interesting tasks such as scanning in Certificates of Analysis and then having to put them on the shared drive…wow there is something exciting.
After hearing of my task to be shared with another chemist (who has 30 years experience) I couldn’t help but think and then say out loud with no tone of sarcasm…”this is why I went to school? This is why I have a chemistry degree?” I’m not saying I’m a superstar by any stretch of the imagination. I got decent grades at school, definitely not a straight A student, and definitely not my mom who is a genius, but, decent none the less. Yet, here I am scanning papers and logging them in, like an intern at a first job.
Am I being ungrateful, I don’t think so. I think that I am just being human. I have no ambition to come to work. I come to work 3 hours late and leave early and nobody says anything to me. I guess that is the only way I can really show the company my true feelings of not only being laid off, but being demoted to a position that interns hold. I am however, grateful to have worked in a big corporate mess, now I know what it is, and now I know how to deal with it.
Since I have been pretty miserable here at my position for the last 2 and half years I’ve decided not only to find a job that I will love but also that I no longer want to be a chemist. I’m not sure what I really want to be (when I grow up) but at this point it is not a chemist. I want to get into the business sector and see if my personality is a better match there. I feel that it will be. The other thing I have found out about myself is I refuse to drive as long and as hard as I have been to get to work. I am not looking for a 70 mile daily commute. I want something close to home and preferably downtown. Those are the things that I know. Everything else I want to explore. This is a good opportunity to really do what I want to do…the only problem is trying to figure out what it is that I want to do.
At this stage in my career I know I don’t want to work in a lab. I want to be a boss, a manager, someone that actually gets to make decisions and execute plans. I want to climb the latter and I want to do it now.
I wish I had a guidance counselor around to ask advice. You know the kind we had in high school and absolutely hated. I remember the kind sweet old lady that was my counselor. I couldn't stand her. She was so clam it was inevitable that she was a bad person, because good people aren’t that sweet and calm…I saw her blow once…not pretty, like I said not a good lady. Yet I wish that something like this existed for people out of high school. I could just walk down to the first floor office and brows through books of professions that I would like to do when I grew up. I guess when I go visit my parents in t-1 hour I can see if the old high school is open and see if I can step inside for some nostalgia and a book or two on professions.

Job

I’m sorry I’ve been gone.
I’ll be back hopefully soon, currently trying to find a job since I’ve been laid off.
G-d willing see you all soon.

Egypt, We Thank you.

A great Thank you goes out to Egypt for keeping illegal immigrants out of Israel. It appears that Israel’s neighbors to the South are doing the country a favor. In the news today , Egyptian guards kill illegal Sudanese migrant.

Now if America would have neighbors like that then there wouldn't need to be any illegal immigration offices at all!

Egypt protects its borders!

Yet another fantastic reason that Palestinians are bad for the world. It is good that Egypt, where Palestinian land should be, have found out that they are the retched snakes that do not belong in their country and maintain their border to make sure none of them come across and take up residence there. It is perfect when Palestinians can stay in Israel and fight the Jews…that way all the other Arab countries can continue to be busy trying to take over the world, building nuclear war heads, and in general hating on the western nations that live in a democratic society.
Nope I’m not a racist, I’m just being real.

Eating FISH!!!

On the topic of, dieting, eating right and eating better.

MSN in their health section has the following headline:

Eating fatty fish lowers risk of dementia

So now we know that Fish is not only good tasting but it is also good for you.
What interests me is the fact that scientists actually research these topics and come up with thesis papers to explain phenomenon the cavemen used to know when nobody could read, or write. This is yet, another excellent example of better living through chemistry.

Beijing

This is really cool!
If anybody was worried that on their next trip to Beijing they would not have any kosher food. Put your worries aside, Chabbad to the rescue. In this news article Rabbi Shimon explains, his Chabbad and his situation is very different to most others. He has to work hand in had with Reform Jews in order to achieve a unified Jewish community. His task is exceptional and his success will be legacy.

Interesting.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1007998.html

Arab Terrorism awareness

I found this site on another blog site.

http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/

Hat tip to SaraK

Terrorists nothing more, TERRORISTS.

Ah yes, even if it’s good news, its bad news.

It is incredible that arabs can spin a story in their favor:
“He blamed the violence in large part on the split between Gaza and the West Bank and the collapse of the Palestinian unity government.
Palestinian officials told Human Rights Watch that Israel's destruction of security installations, prisons and other criminal justice facilities since the second Intifada began in late 2000 is to blame for the poor state of the Palestinian security and criminal justice systems.
Israel's continuing restrictions on the movement of Palestinian security forces in the West Bank are also a factor, Human Rights Watch said.”

Quoted from:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/07/30/palestinian.infighting/index.html

Even when it is them that is causing the violence, when it is them that is causing the destruction and it is them that is killing…THEIR OWN PEOPLE. Arabs kill their own people, like Stalin with no mercy. It is incredible that the world is only NOW (almost) seeing them for who they are, Terrorists. These terrorists do not want peace; they want total world domination and the destruction of everything and everybody that does not conform to their life style and religion. Now, for all the peace loving (jew hating) hippie Americans this will be really hard to believe and even harder to understand but guess what, they HATE YOU TOO!

9/11 proved that.

Yet, America sleeps.

Interesting!

CRIME IN CANADA

Now this is a sick and twisted news clip. If you do not have the stomach for really sick things, do not read the article. In short this article points out that a man was murdered on a greyhound bus.

Maybe I’m just extra critical but it seems that there is nothing anybody could have done to stop this from happening. Or is it because people were too busy trying to get the bus to stop and running away from it? Is it the fact that in the North American society people are more worried about their well being then in trying to save a persons life?

I have ridden the greyhound bus often to numerous locations in both the U.S and Canada. My experiences for the most part have been very positive. Except for a few times when I’ve noticed that a lot of crazy people ride the bus, other than that, it’s a pretty good experience.

Truth

For all of those idiots in the world that think that Jews would be allowed to live in peace without the country of Israel please go ahead and read this article. I am always baffled by the amount of stupidity, and stupid trust that people have around the world. Can we the Jews not learn from our own history? Is it sacrilegious to realize that the minute we get a little to comfortable somewhere, something is just bound to happen? Well here is a little evidence, but have no fear more proof is coming.

Without Israel, Jews will not exist, even in America where everything ‘seems’ to be just peachy!

Update: July 1:50pm

G-d Bless America the Great!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/31/shenadoah.beating/index.html

Ironic that the American Press tries to push all of this news under the rug, and yet worries so much about how JUNIOR SENATOR OBAMA's trip to the middle east is going. Ironic.

Interesting

I have heard of this practice and a friend of mine is involved with this in Israel. Interesting idea, I’m just wondering if it would truly work long term.

Taxes

Here is an article that I found interesting. I know of a few people that have made Aliya with no intent of coming back and yet they pay their American taxes. I always thought it was interesting, now I see there is logic to this action.

NICE!

Here is a bit of good news. For a country the size of Israel to be able to send kids to an international scholastic competition is incredible. For the kids to come back with medals is even more a feat! Not too bad for a little country. A good friend of mine competed in a scholastic competition in high school, international level, he said it was tough and the competition is fierce. So with all that said; isn’t it incredible that these youngsters to such great advantage of not only being outstanding, but for showing the world how outstanding they are!

‘Assaf Mauda, 16, of Pardes Hanna, He intends to study at the Technion after his military service.’

It is Incredible how such a young teenager can be so strong. Such a grown up decision and level headed as well. In today’s society it is refreshing to see children who know who they are, and who they want to be.

Is this realization of one’s self, a product of childrearing or a product of the environment? If the same teenager lived in America, would he have the same views and opinions? Would he be the best he could be, or get up in all of the fan fair that surrounds being a good student, or rather a geek? Would this child have the same love for life, or would he be just another ‘smart’ kid in a entire bunch of smart kids?
Whatever the case…I wish him luck in all of his future endeavors.

Terrorism

It is most interesting to me that murdering bastards, war starting hypocrites are given a forum to speak. It is not enough that these alleged leaders ruin their countries, oppress their people and out right kill their own people for their own amusement BUT, we as a civilized and democratic people CHOOSE to ‘negotiate’ with them. It is most amusing to me that the American people as a whole are so tolerant and willing to accept out right lies rather than call something what it is. In this case this is a perfect example of a TERRORIST in power that will inevitably star World War III.

Interesting Idea!

Can this be true? Can a family of four really survive on $100 a week?

As this articles goes to prove, a family of four can truly be fed on a budget of $100 a week. What about a family of four that keeps kosher? I for one am ready for the challenge. Since a budget for a family of four is $100 I think for my modest family of two it should be $50 a week. My experiment would be a little more lax then the one in the article, just because if there is a supper sale I will stock up, but I will make room for that in my $50 a week budget! Starting on Monday July 28th going to Sunday August 3rd I will try not to spend more than $50 for our dining needs and I will report back to you all on Monday August 4th how that worked.

Politics?

After reading this particular article, I was grinding at the thought that this is called ‘journalism’. Then I realized and promptly cringed that in a news article there are quotes from terrorist, who are playing the bullied child running to the parent to be a tattle tale.

Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331079273&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Israel of undermining US-backed peace talks.

"This is destroying the process of a two-state solution," Erekat said. "I hope the Americans will make the Israelis revoke the decision. I think they can make the Israelis do this."

I think they can make the Israelis do this

Does this sound like PEACE TALKS TO ANYONE? This is one little boy, fighting to get another little boys toy.

Being eaten out of house and home.

Money saving? What saving!? How can you possibly save money when prices for produce are at all time high? Food in the United States of America historically was not a big ticket item. If you were to go to the store and buy absolutely everything you wanted, it was still pretty impossible to spend your entire wage on feeding your family. In other parts of the world it is not so. For instance in the former Soviet Union it was very possible to spend your entire weekly salary on feeding your family.

I do understand that in America prices are sill lower than the rest of the world. Yet, when people are used to a certain price for a certain food it is still a bit of a shock when that price doubles in what seems like over night.

I think I bring this up only because yesterday I did some grocery shopping, still pretty fresh with the frustration of stopping by a large kosher supper market and seeing all the inflated prices. Now I understand that people are going to start defending the kosher store that it is much smaller than the chain stores, the prices for them in bulk are larger and all the other fantastic explanations, and here is the kicker….I AGREE! I understand that the local kosher market cannot compete with Target when selling milhik whip cream at the price target has them beat by at least 30%. I understand that instant coffee costs more than it does in Costco and the same goes for Mayonnaise. BUT, why does Fake crab cost $7.59 for kosher and $2.99 for non Kosher….its the same fish! FISH!!!! Not meat, no shochet required!

I would love to know what the profit margin on food is in a chain store compared to a local supper market, compared to a kosher market. I would love to know why it is that cookies, chocolates, and other various kinds of unhealthy food can be sold for the same price as a large chain store but essentials like bread, eggs, milk are sold at such an upgrade!
I think in today’s market economy it is extremely prudent to be an educated consumer. Of course it would be in effective to drive around for the best deals thereby wasting both time and gas and car. Yet, most Americans have to drive to work…there are stores around your work place hitting them after work for a better price than the local rip off is becoming more and more essential. Buying less food, throwing out less food is always a topic but now its crucial. Most of all, I’d like you all to check out this site. Orthonomics has awesome ideas for how to save money wisely…I agree with her. Check it out, maybe you will too.

Hat tip to Orthonomics!

My Views

I’m sorry for being MIA for such a long time but it has been busy here in the concerned Jew Girl world.

After speaking to a good friend I realized that there needs to be more written on the positives of religion rather than the negatives. I find that it is much easier to focus on the negative side of anything, religion the most obvious for most.

Being associated to any club, any sport or any type of forum with people in it there will be mixed views and a general club consensus. So, why is it that we feel we are better than that. The overall negative vibe coming from the blogosphere comes from fellow religious Jews, so I have one question for these people: “Why are you frum?” Nobody is pulling you into this. Nobody is threatening you if you leave, so then why do you CHOOSE to stay frum? There are of course many positives that keep us all enticed.

Sure you might not agree on the politics. Yet, when you think about it do you agree with the politics of your gym? Or, how about your children’s school, do you agree with the politics there? Or, how about your work, there are politics there, do you agree with them? Sometimes there are just many differing opinions and yours is just one of them.

Many people choose to make religion the central part of their lives. Others like to be a little bit involved but not too much. Others still are very far away from it but are still involved. Even within these examples there are many grey areas some a little more some a little less.

With all of these grey areas and so many stages of involvement it would be incredibly naïve to think that everyone would or should coexist in peace with no differing opinions. It would be silly to think that everyone would do everything in the same way shape and form. It would be ignorant to think that there were no problems with the system.

Yet, we still chose to remain a part of this group. We chose to call ourselves by certain names and associate ourselves with certain connotations that come with each group. The feeling of belonging is only one possible reason we choose to remain in a group. There are of course many others.

In my humble opinion, I am a part of a certain group because that is where I feel I belong the best. I feel that in that group my views, opinions and overall world views are expressed the best and that is why I choose to stay. Not because it’s a great fashion statement, and everyone else is doing it.