Last Monday

I can hardly believe that it's the last Monday of January already. Is the rest of the year going to go like this? It seems like just a day ago that my DH and I were snowed in at our home in Kirkland. Celebrating the holidays, yes, but also trapped!

It did snow - a little bit - yesterday, but not enough to keep me from heading home to be with my honey. He thoughtfully taped the NHL All Stars Game, and let me watch it while he cooked an amazing gourmet feast. We had a marinated pork tenderloin, with red potatoes roasted with garlic, and fresh asparagus. What a wonderful meal!

Since I last wrote, I have a few updates:

In Bruges - a film starring Colin Farrell, was lauded by the critics, and called a "sleeper". Well, it should have stayed asleep. I'm one of those people who needs to see something happy on a Sunday night, and there was nothing happy in this film. There were times when I thought they might pull out of the muck long enough to give us a modified happy ending, but, no. It was death and destruction to everyone we liked, and even those we didn't. It could have been a David Lynch for all the blood. The dialog was clever, and we did laugh once or twice during it, but this was not a winner. Afterward, we watched an episode of 2 and 1/2 Men to have a giggle before heading off to bed in preparation for the work week.

Defiance - Did I already kvell about this one? Even if I did, it's worth saying again. It is the best movie I've seen in a long time. The critics complain that it tried too hard, and pulled too many heart strings. What? Yes, I cared about the people in it, which must be something critics disdain, and I felt uplifted at the end of it, which must also be a no-no. Bah! Forget them. This is fantastic!

I received an extra movie from Netflix this past week because it had been at the top of my queue for a while with a status of "short wait". They finally found it somewhere else, and had it sent to me even though I already had my allotment of films. It was a series of concerts by Bill Hicks (comedian who died of cancer back in the 90's). I remember loving his work, and wanted to see it again. I found it most interesting that I no longer enjoyed him at all. There were a few chuckles, but, for the most part, he was just ranting without humor.

That has happened to me before - where something I remember as touching or funny just doesn't have the same appeal it once did. I was surprised this time, though. My friend, Ravi and I used to enjoy him so much that I thought for sure it would be the same this time around - but it wasn't...not by a long shot.

King of Hearts, though, seems to have unlimited appeal. I watched it again with the same enjoyment as the first time I saw it - or maybe even more. What makes it even better is that it was a free, "play now" video through Netflix, so I just pulled it onto my Roku machine and have it there to watch anytime I want (along with Star Trek TOS and the current seasons of NCIS, and Numb3rs seasons 3, 4 and 5).

The street was paved with ice this morning, as if someone had used a powdered-sugar glaze over everything. My sweetie drove me to the P&R because I didn't set the alarm correctly. It's currently set to go off at 5pm instead of 5am. Anyway, it was good he did that because walking to the bus stop could have been treacherous!

Tomorrow, we're heading to a production of one of my favorite plays - The Importance of Being Earnest. We'll meet up with friends and go to a show on a Tuesday night! That's not our normal behavior. Weekdays are normally too tiring to consider going out, but this is a special event, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Wednesday will be my first Weight Watchers' meeting in a very long time. I have to get serious now, or I'll be miserable when we go to NYC in June. I think it is so much worse to be stuffed into clothes when it's hot and sticky than when it's cold and rainy. Not that it's great any time, but I would just hate having to feel either exposed and embarrassed or sweltering in too many clothes while we're back there. If I can just eat sensibly, and NOT snack at night (I'm a late-night nibbler) I should be okay by June. That's the goal, anyway. I'd love to be motivated enough to start running again, and train for the Vancouver 1/2 marathon, but I don't think I'll pull it together this year. Maybe next May I will be in a better place with daily exercise.

My sister is the Queen of Physical Health. She's been working out daily since the new year. What a star! She's amazing, anyway, but this is a poke for me to remember to keep up (uh, get up is more like it).

More later after we head to the theater. I'll give updates on my WW meetings, too. There's one next door to work right now, but they need 10 more people to keep it going. I hope they get them because it'd be a lot easier to get there than at Westlake, which is 1/2 way home. Hard to come back to the office when I've escaped that far! Also, the blog can keep me honest, since I'll report losses and gains, so I'd better be good!

Long time no blog

Finally feeling somewhat normal after the holidays. Time to get back to a regular routine - the food, the exercise, the work...everything. Once I get my habits reset, I'll be okay, but now everything seems so forced and strange. Normal living seems dull in comparison, and yet the holidays lacked something this year, too.

I hadn't realized until this year how much I appreciated lighting the menorah for Channukah. We're non-traditional to say the least, and enjoy a mixed experience of both a single gift-giving day on xmas, and lighting the candles for each night of Channukah. We say a blessing each night - not the standard brachot by any means - for something for which we are thankful. The first night is for our health, and the nights following each remind us of another aspect of life for which we are grateful. During a time as hectic and crazy as the holidays, having 8 nights where we light the candles together, and spend some time in reflection and appreciation for each other and our life together - that in itself is a blessing. This year, we didn't have Channukah candles, and I couldn't find any anywhere. You don't realize how xmas-centric the world is until you try and find candles for the menorah at the last minute. I bought a case after the holiday so that I will NOT run into this problem again. We ran through the holidays without a break, and they were over before we knew it. We had fun giving presents to the children in our lives, but we missed having the intimate holiday with each other that I've come to anticipate and love.

We were forced to slow down a little bit, though, because we were snowed in at the house in Kirkland. It looked like Tahoe out the window. Driving was impossible, and walking was difficult. After 4 days in the house, we pushed the car out of the driveway and into the ruts created by the mailman to get out to a movie - Tales of Despereaux. I loved the movie, which had some of the most beautiful animation I've ever seen. Evidently, the book is sadder than the film - so I'm glad I saw the film!

This xmas I got a patriotic banner instead of a flag. I mentioned before that I never even wanted a flag for the condo because the Bush administration did not engender even the smallest amout of patriotism in me. In fact, I never felt so alienated from my own country. However, as of last November 4th, all of that changed. Still, it's hard to figure out how to put a flag up on the deck of the condo. My creative DH found a banner - one of those ruffled red/white/blue banners you might see on a dais during a political speach - and I'll be using it quite soon. I will put it out for Tuesday - Inauguration Day for our 44th President, Barak Obama. Talk about something for which I can be truly grateful! A president for all of us.

Here's to meeting our personal goals (bah on "resolutions") and living a life filled with love, peace, and prosperity in the coming year.

Holidaze

We had a successful "gingerbread decorating" party last Saturday. What a treat! My DH went above-and-beyond baking and assembling 11 houses so the kids could get right to the fun part of decorating them and making them their own. He also made cookies for smaller "landscapes" and it was all good -- too good! Oy, the eating! Still, it was so good to have time with friends. That, after all, is the heart of the holiday - but food is a close second!

We celebrate both Xmas and Hanukkah, so we have twice the eating opportunities. This weekend is brisket and latkes, and Xmas Eve is shrimp creole by the fire. Xmas morning, Santa brings bagels and lox (with lots of capers and onions) as well as presents. Then NYE means braised lamb and a midnight dessert buffet at the Seattle Rep, where we're going to see You Can't Take It With You, and then dance and munch until the fireworks there at the Seattle Center. Then it's back to "real life" and sensible eating as we start the new year...

One thing that's been tough this holiday season is that we usually give a lot to charity at this time of year. The Seattle Center has a giving tree, and we used to select a couple of the elderly and a couple of kids and buy presents for them. We just couldn't do it this year. No extravagant gifts for ourselves, of course, but no big donations to our favorite charities, either. Here's hoping that next year puts us in a better position to give to the organizations who are doing such good work.

One organization in particular is FareStart. They train homeless people to work in the food industry so that they can get jobs and change their lives. They are a great group doing important grass-roots work to change lives in a positive way - good for people/good for Seattle. I love these guys. YouTube has a number of videos of FareStart success stories. This one came in this month's newsletter, and I think it's worth sharing.

If I don't get back to blogging before the new year, happy holidays to one and all!

FareStart:

How can they sleep at night?

Worked at home today because there's a threat of snow. The rest of the country would laugh at Seattle and our fear of flurries, but it's a safer place if I'm not on the road in snow. I have to be in the 'burbs for our annual holiday gingerbread house decorating party, so I got here while the driving was easy.

Anyway, my DH listens to CNBC all day long, so some of it penetrated even though I'm pretty good at blocking out sounds when I'm working. The discussion today about the car company bailouts really touched me. After giving a hundred billion dollars to bail out the financial companies without so much as a request as to how they were going to spend the money, the feds are requesting that the UAW take a cut in pay before they'll even offer a bridge loan to keep America working.

So, if you're a big mucky-muck in a failed financial house, you can get a grant from the feds to give yourself a bonus, but if you're a working guy making cars on the line at GM, you have to work for less to even have a job.

How do those Republicans even sleep at night with the inequity they continue to defend?

Today was also the day that one of the biggest market makers was arrested for a 50 billion dollar ponzi scam he's been running. And his business was regulated. Huh? Yeah, financial leaders are ever so trustworthy...NOT.

Ambiance == Darkness

I went to dinner last night with friends to a restaurant I've been to before and LOVED. It had great seafood, the dining room had a warm and cozy feel - just wonderful. However, sometime between the last time I went there and last night something drastic happened.

They lost their collective minds.

The restaurant Six Seven in the Edgewater Hotel used to be a seriously good restaurant. In a city that has more than its share of EXCELLENT restaurants, that's something about which a restaurant (and a hotel restaurant, no less) could be seriously proud. I should have known, though, as soon as we sat down that something was seriously amiss. The restaurant was so dark that we had to tilt a candle to even read the menu, and the layout of the menu was confusing as well (with no help from the waiter to ease our way into ordering).

Having made it through the menu by bailing out and opting for the 2 people for $67 4-course dinner, we still had hopes that the food would dazzle. It's not bad, but it is no longer in the top rankings of Seattle restaurants. My DH had the steak option (we had options for salad, entree, and dessert) and I had the fish. My sea bass was wonderful, but his steak arrived cold. Not only that, the DISH was hot, but the food was cold... Huh? The same thing happened with the soup - mine was fine, but his was cold. Maybe they had it out for him (not).

The desserts were wonderful - a gingerbread crust on a vanilla cheesecake and a molten-lava chocolate cake - so they must have kept their pastry chef. However, they seem to have lost their previous chef - or maybe they have the same chef, but he's gone as loony as the bozo who decided to up the ambiance by turning the lights off. What a disappointment - and expense. So disappointing to see a once stellar restaurant slide down hill like this...such a shame.

I'm just bleeding money these days, and it has to stop. We all received a notice that there will be a reduction-in-force, probably after the holidays, and we need to be tightening our belts. I guess I'm finished with my holiday shopping...

Synchronicity

Sometimes it seems prayers, like questions, are answered with more questions. I still have some praying and thinking to do about my issues with being faithful to my chosen family, while being accepting of my husband's family (and my birth family, too). There's a post over at Friar Yid that touches me to the core.

http://friaryid.blogspot.com/2008/12/reflections-on-yarzeit.html

He's not talking about me at all. But his use of the story of Abraham choosing to sacrifice his own son (even though the son is given a reprieve) rather than disobey G-d made me see the orthodoxy in my unorthodox life. I haven't worked out the nuances, yet, but I can see the spark of an answer amid the myriad of new questions.

Once, in M*A*S*H, a crazy guy who thought he was Jesus was asked why G-d doesn't always answer our prayers, and he said he always answers, but sometimes the answer is "no". I think what's happening is that we're not asking the right questions. Sometimes the answer is in the form of more questions to help us get to the right one. At least that's what I think.

One time, when I was a kid, my dad had a friend who went through some mid-life crisis, left his wife, started dating a much younger woman, and started dressing like some "hipster". It was embarrassing. I couldn't look at him. One night, he gave me a present - a board game called The Peter Pan Game (doubt he saw the irony) which was really cool. However, I couldn't look at him or at his young girlfriend. I just wanted to sink into the floor.

My dad told me later that I was rude to his friend, and that it hurt him to have me be so disrespectful. I never wanted to hurt my dad - but I felt like "pretending" to respect this guy was dishonest. I did a lot of thinking and praying then, too. It occurred to me that if I were only going to treat people with respect whom I thought deserved respect, then I was going to have to spend all my time judging people's behavior before I could do anything. That also meant that my behavior would be controlled by the behavior of others instead of being self determined. If they were respect-worthy, then I would be respectful; if they weren't, then I would be disrespectful. That just didn't seem right.

I finally decided that I could treat people with respect - not because they deserved respect - but because I deserved respect. Then it didn't matter whether they deserved it or not. I could treat this friend of my dad's with respect without feeling like a phony, not disappoint my father, and still feel true to myself.

There's got to be a solution like that for me here, too. It's just much easier for me to handle people hurting - or trying to hurt - me, than watching people hurt those whom I love. So this one is going to take more work, but I feel like the answer is closer now.

Mumbai

Sent an email to a friend living in Mumbai, who was (thankfully) unharmed in the attack. She sent this photo of the Taj Hotel as it used to look.

If you haven't stopped by Cook-Eat-Fret http://www.cookeatfret.com/ lately, stop by and see her latest unusual post about a December Thanksgiving.

Hope you are all well, and that the holidays and the coming year bring peace to all.