Things I Hate: Round 2

Nothing makes me angrier than when someone steals my NY Times in the morning. The worst is on the weekends. If you don't snag yours before 10 am someone in my building just assumes I don't want it and takes it for themselves. Lately, I've just taken it with me to shul on Saturday mornings. Its always good to have something to read during the Rabbi's sermon, but I'd prefer to leave it at my apartment building and have it waiting for me when I get home after lunch. On weekdays, when someone snags my paper I am forced to pick up a NY Post from the bodega at the corner. Is it just me or does everyone judge people who read the Post? Its not a real newspaper. I'm convinced that they have employed a junior high school newspaper club to write their articles. They have that certain junior high ring to them. Anyway, as I sat on the subway reading my 25 cent NY Post I felt like everyone was staring at me thinking, oy, she looks so intelligent, yet shes reading the Post. We were so wrong to assume she was brilliant. Does anyone else feel that way?

Oh, and another thing to piss off all my reader's who are obsessed with Obama. The Post chose him as their candidate of choice today. Right next to a big article about a black cop who was running an under age prostitution ring. Not really an endorsement he's going to tout.

BIG NEWS

Susanne is looking forward to sharing her BIG news with the WORLD! Soon soon my friends! And no, its not what you people who pounced on me upon seeing on the Facebook Newsfeed "Susanne is no longer single" are thinking. This news is work related. And its HUGE! Get ready to virally spread the word to all of your favorite Jewish peeps, blogs, and websites. And since I am talking about work, I'm happy to announce that my blog has a new #1 fan. Sorry Diana. My boss, Rabbi Rosenbaum, was forwarded a link to my blog and hasn't stopped talking about it. Thanks Melanie for passing it on. Really, thanks... I'm glad I've always kept things on here strictly kosher. ;)

Ahh Bushie

I love the State of the Union Address. Not only does it come with its very own drinking game, but its also the one day of year the the United States congress gets to act like the British House of Commons. I love all the hooting and hollering. I'll update you on my drinking game progress as we go.

The doors open and the Sergeant-at-Arms says Madam Speaker. I still get excited when I hear that. Madam Speaker. Its only the second time he opened with that. She became Speaker just 20 days prior to last years SOTU address. Last year I teared up. Hmm, next year, Madam President? We shall see.

Now heres the low down on his address based on my drinking.

Oh, spotted my congressman, Charlie Rangel, drink one and pat yourself on the back for being able to identify your congressman/woman.

Did the President just mention Hispanish students? Oy. Bushism, have a drink.

Another Bushism so soon? I think I hear Nukular.

Ted Kennedy...sleeping. Drink until your liver cries. 5 minutes later. Ted again. Opening beer number 3.

Showing a current presidential candidate. Theres Hillary in her snazzy red pantsuit. There she is again. And again. Damn, Obama should have worn a red suit. He sitting next to Ted yet the camera hasn't once panned over. Does MSNBC favor Senator Clinton?!

President introduces an energy goal. Take a shot.

Earmarks! Tug on your ear while taking a drink. I wish he had said pork barreling instead. Then we'd get to oink.

Border security? Tequila time!

Buy produce from farmers in developing countries. This isn't a drinking point but still. Um hello, what about our US farmers? Doesn't the president read my blog? Sheesh!

Some guy sitting behind the first lady is clapping with one hand. Only person I know who does that is Bob Dole, but what the heck would he be doing there. Oh, now the Prez is talking about Bob Dole's recommendations to reform our veteran system, care for wounded warriors. It is him! Bob Dole is back people! Take a swig of Pepsi!

Prez has finished his address and is leaving the hall. Ouch, he just ignored Obama's hand not once but twice.

Ted kennedy again, this time with his son, Congressman Patrick Kennedy (a stand up dude BTW, used to see him in the visitor's dining room in the Capitol instead of the Member's only room. I alway dug that.)

President just outside the Chamber giving openly gay Rep. Barney Frank and warm half hug hello. Hmm, thats a guy I didn't envision him being all touchy feely with.

My thoughts on the speech overall. Eh. He didn't say much. Looks like this just might be a Lamer Duck than we expected. He was practically endorsing John McCain. What with all his talk about supporting the troops, getting rid of earmarks, etc... gee, I wonder who hes voting for?

And finally, who is this chick giving the Democratic response? The Governor of Kansas? Shes not even up for re-election. What the hell was she doing there? At least let someone cool speak. Like Jim Webb last year was so badass.

Anyhoo, those are my comments. I drank three beers and am now eating vanilla pudding. It is yummy.

Heath Ledger's Passing

Heath died last Tuesday afternoon. I found out when I refreshed my Facebook Home screen and saw that Seth Galena had mentioned his passing as his Status Update. That was at 4:56 PM, only two hours after he was pronounced dead. Hell, Heath's family members may not even have heard in that amount of time. And then the stories began pouring out in the media. He OD'ed. He committed suicide. He was surrounded by pills. Or my favorite, he was found lying on the floor naked. People, come on. He was found by his masseuse and housekeeper lying in bed. When they tried to rouse him they realized there was trouble. When the EMTS arrived they took him out of the bed and put him on the floor. There were pills in the room. All prescribed and in their correct pill bottles. The way the media convoluted the story made us all think he was found sprawled out on his bedroom floor with pill capsules around his body. Let the man die with a little dignity. The meds he did have (sleeping pills, anxiety medication), hell thats stuff that almost every New Yorker has a prescription for. It doesn't mean if you have it you abuse it. I'd prefer to not accuse him of abusing drugs and overdosing. This is the dude that when in the tabloids it wasn't partying and acting stupid. He was the guy carrying his two-year-old daughter on his shoulders. Drinking coffee at a cafe. Ordering water at a club. Some people just die. Untimely as it might be, it does happen. When you're not a doctor you don't know if your sleeping pill might not be good to take if you have a cold. Your anxiety medicine might have a bad interaction with grapefruit juice (true story, by the way). He may have had a heart defect. Who the hell knows. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here. It might bite me in the behind if test results come back positive of anything not kosher. But this guy really touched me with some of his roles. He was in several of my favorite movies. I still remember which theater I saw 10 Things I Hate About You at, who I saw it with, and where we went for a bite to eat after. That was 9 years ago. Silly as it seems, I really dug it. I wanted to write all this pent up annoyance all week but I just couldn't find the time. Then today I was flipping channels and I saw that Brokeback Mountain was on. Its the first time I saw him on screen since he passed away. He was so damn talented and had decades left of creativity in him that we are never going to see. That made me very sad. Only a couple actors each generation have that gift. And we just lost one. Rest in Peace Heath.

My Safari

I went to a liquer tasting on my cruise with my parent's last year and tried a delicious drink called Amarula. I realized later it wasn't kosher but the one opportunity I had it was incredible. When I went to their website to check their kashrus status I signed up for all their mailing lists. I randomly got in the mail last month a holiday gift of an Amarula apron. Really super cool. I got an email today about entering a raffle to win an African safari. I like contests so what the hey, I entered.

The contest is as follows: Ever dreamt of a journey to Africa? Or witnessing majestic elephants in the wild? Submit a special moment and if it’s selected as the ultimate Amarula moment, you could win a trip to Africa. What is an Amarula moment? Any special memory that's cause for celebration. Share yours, and you could be packing your bags!

So I wrote about the trip I was on when I first tasted their delicious drink. And made it sound all sappy to win the contest. Below is my entry.



Being in my late 20s and having my parents in their 60s I realize that I unfortunately don't have too many opportunities left to go on vacation with both of my parents. Not that they God Forbid are getting too old (they are both "Recycled Teenagers" after all), but we do not often have vacation breaks at the same time of year. Last winter they offered to take me along on their grand cruise of the Eastern Carribean and I quickly accepted. It was 11 joyful days that we got to spend together. This picture was taken on the picturesque beach in the Cayman Islands. I look forward to the next opportunity we have to travel the world together. Perhaps to a kibbutz in Israel, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or an exhilirating African Safari (hint, hint!). Although the best vacation might just be sitting on the couch at my parent's house in California. There's nowhere else I'd rather be...


I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Predictify.com

My friend Josh told me about the above site and its pretty cool. You make predictions about many different things (ie Politics, Box Offices Grosses, Sports Scores) and for some of your correct predictions you can win a cash prize. This isn't fake, Josh has made over $100. Not every predicition has the possiblity of a cash prize, some you'll only be answering for your own enjoyment. I don't know who or what's bankrolling this site, most likely polling firms, but who cares. I like money. So check out the site, and have a good time.

PBR Takes Manhattan!

Last weekend was the PBR Versus Invitational in Madison Square Garden. Seeing these cowboys from deep in the Heartland riding on the backs of some of the rankest bulls in Midtown Manhattan was exhilirating. As Reifer pointed out, these cowboys are from towns so small, its amazing that they are actually traveling to the big city. One rider, McKennon Wimberly, is from Cool, TX, population, according to the 2000 census, 162. Or 161 on PBR weekends since McKennon is out of town. Theres more people than that living in my apartment building!

A gigantic group travelled from my shul in Washington Heights to see the bull riding. Or rodeo as these city folk erroneously called it. This ain't a rodeo kids. Its PBR!

I went on Saturday night with a group of buddies for my friend Shosh's birthday (Happy Birthday Shosh!) and wore my best country garb. Tight jeans, boots, and my trusty cowboy hat. I had a good time teaching them the ropes. Shosh and I, who attended the event last year (and sat next to George Strait!) cheered widely as the major riders were introduced (Adriano Moraes! Justin McBride!!)

Reifer and I returned on Sunday for the final round. I got to watch my current favorite Mike Lee (only because my total fave Justin McBride is injured) ride all 5 bulls he was given maintaining his amazing season of zero buck offs. Very very impressive. We sat behind this awesome kid who was totally into it (picture above). She was cheering wildly after each good ride. She was sooo cute.

Well, I guess I'll have to wait til next year to catch the live event again. Although I'll be watching every weekend on Versus and on their PBR YouTube channel. Maybe I'll even trek out to the World Finals in Las Vegas in October. We shall see.

Things I Hate: Round 1

I had thought I started this running tirade a long time ago. But I can't find it so I am starting anew. Round 1.

I hate the perky morning people in my office. They go around saying good morning to everyone all perkily. Come on man, at least wait until I've had my second cup of coffee. Especially if you are the lady who always expects a response to her "Good Morning". If I squeek out a "hi" she should find it sufficient. This morning one guy actually said, "Good Morning! Its a beautiful day!!" I nearly strangled him.

Tom Lantos

Tom Lantos is awesome. I just got a JTA Breaking News update that he is to retire from the US House of Representatives. He is a Holocaust survivor and has been a huge advocate for Jewish rights while spending almost 30 years in Congress. He is currently the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. I heard him speak when I interned in DC in 2001 and was impressed with his story and passion to work hard on some of the most important issues. The JTA release has him quoted as saying, "It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a member of Congress. I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country."

He is retiring because he is suffering from cancer. I wish him a Refuah Shleima, a speedy and complete recovery.

A Goldstone New Year's Eve

My New Year's was pretty awesome. Party at Sharon and Devorah's was like their best one ever. I got to play Super Mario 3 while a little intoxicated which is always fun. We didn't bust out the DDR or karaoke like at previous #52 parties, but we had a sweet New Year's anyway.

A fun story is about how the senior Goldstones spent their evening. My parents have friends that come to LA every year from Detroit for the holidays so they always try to find something new and exciting to do each NYE. Someone said there was to be a big fabulous concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. So my mom bought tickets for them and their friends, all Detroiters in their 60s. Turns out the show was featuring Belinda Carlisle of 80's all girl band fame and the flaming Rufus Wainwright whos last album was a noted Judy Garland tribute. Let's just say my dad and the other fellows in their group were the only straight men in the audience. Plus, it was entirely in French! When I called them yesterday to find out how their night was and heard about the concert I was cracking up. My dad said that the show the couple was putting on in the seats to his left was far more entertaining than the one on stage. Good one Dad!

Bring on 2008!