Why Christmas is Awesome

It is Christmas Eve. As one of the children that will shortly be dreaming of sugarplums, no doubt, I'd like to take a few moments to reflect on my most favorite holiday. I've determined over the last few weeks that it is the family traditions that mean the most to me at this time of year. Some traditions have morphed over time as my sister and I age. There are many that I could speak of, but let me provide you with my Top 5 Christmas Traditions.

5. Oh Tannenbaum: The day after Thanksgiving used to be a sacred holiday in our household. My dad, mom, sis and I would bundle up, pack the mini van with several hours of Christmas CDs, and drive north into the Georgia/North Carolina mountains. We were on a mission to find the perfect Christmas tree. The trek almost always included an argument regarding either what was the best Christmas Tree Farm or how to find it, because we never wrote down directions year to year. And it always ended with my dad sawing down a tree that was too short for his liking and too tall for my mom's, but nearly always the perfect shape without any holes. When my sister and I were in college, we lobbied for the discontinuation of the cutting of the Christmas Tree the day after Thanksgiving; we both had to drive several hours to and from school that weekend, and the thought of spending most of the day in a car during one of our precious vacation days was too much to bear. Home Depot now supplies our trees, but I will always remember our family outings to the farms.
4. "Silent Night, Holy Night": On Christmas Eve we attend the candle lighting service at our church. The sanctuary is full for the service. When I was younger it was a chance to exchange presents with some of my best friends; now it is the one night of the year where those with whom I grew up are reunited. The last part of the service is always my favorite. Everyone receives a candle and the congregation passes the flames to each in attendance while singing all the verses of Silent Night. The lights are turned off and the room is filled with flittering lights and the sounds of earthly angels singing. I'm not sure I have ever been able to sing all the words as I'm inevitably choked up by the beauty and the peace of the moment.
3. "And Then... And Then...": Mongolian Beef ... and then... House Special Fried Rice... and then... Crab Rangoons... and then...  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please watch this clip from Dude, Where's My Car. As we leave church Christmas Eve night, we call our favorite Chinese Food take out joint and place our order for our feast. We kill 15 minutes driving around neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights before we pick up dinner. It is the same Chinese Food we get on any other night, but it always seems to taste extra good on Christmas Eve.
2. Christmas Carols: When malls, radios, and TV commercials start playing Christmas music November 1st, I am that person you despise, because I completely and utterly love it. I am that sap that tunes to Delilah's Christmas call-in radio show and cries when they play "I'll be Home for Christmas". I look forward to the Hershey's Kiss commercial where they play "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" on bells and the Coca-Cola bears' newest cheesy moment. I do not tire of "Feliz Navidad," "Jingle Bell Rock" or the one about the hippopotamus, which by anyone's measure may be the 3 most annoying songs ever written. Stores want to start playing Christmas music the day after Labor Day? Bring it. A million years ago I took piano lessons, and the songs I still know how to play best are carols. Dad is a kindred spirit, though probably not to the same extent. He has been known to play Christmas music during our Thanksgiving dinner.
1. Santa: I think I was well into high school when I asked my parents if Santa was still coming to our house. My mom told me that as long as I believed, he would still come. I'm 26 years old, and Santa still visits. My sister and I each have a pile of stuff waiting when we get up Christmas Day. When we were younger we gave explicit instructions to my mother as to whose pile of toys goes where and she passed these instructions dutifully to Santa. We no longer do that as we can immediately recognize whose pile is whom's by the clothes or other assorted items we have already picked out for ourselves. When my sister and I were very young and went to my grandparent's house for Christmas, Santa visited us there, too. I've seen pictures of me at what must be about 2 years old and my mini kitchen - I had wanted "cookin'" for Christmas. Who knew then that plastic food and ovens would lead to something I now love! I've kept and treasured the dollhouse that my papa made. We also have a detailed account of every Santa visit. I'm confident that there is video record of every Christmas morning. I'm sure if you bribed my parents (or maybe just ask nicely) you can have tomorrow's tape of a 26 and 23 year old coming down the stairs, rummaging through their Santa pile while in pajamas (I'm wearing particularly offensive ones tonight. Someone in my family said I look like I'm wearing a TV test pattern) while off-screen voices ask "Ooo, what's that?"and "What did Santa bring this year?" as if they don't already know. I'm fully aware that there is not a jolly fat man in a red suit shimmying down my chimney. I also know that there is no chance that my parents would wrap all the presents that they spoil my sister and me with each year either. And so, I still believe in the spirit of Santa. And till the pitter-patter of feet smaller than mine are in our house Christmas Day, he will continue to leave me a pile of goodies. And that is just fine with me.

Atop Masada

That 2am wake up call was worth it.

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Harry Pot-ter and Happy Birthday, Mike

Over Thanksgiving my sis brought home the first four books in the Harry Pot-ter (you have to say it with a British accent to get the full effect) series. I had never read them - I was a little too old when they started coming out - but had always heard that they were good. So I figured I would give them a try. I read the first at home, and the next three over three days once back in California. My sis brought the last three in the series when she got home on Saturday, and I began reading on Sunday. I finished the last this evening. That is approximately 2280 pages in three days. What a great series. I just couldn't put it down! And I'm so glad it is over so I can get my life back.

In between chapters, I've also been able to finish my Christmas shopping, wrap all my presents, and spend some quality time with my parents and sister. I am, however, missing a big part of my soon-to-be family. Check out Mike's exploits across the world in some of his recent posts, if you haven't already. And please wish him a Happy Birthday, too! For me, this is the best time of year; for the next 13 days, I get to call him an Old Man.

Northern Israel

We spent Wednesday in Northern Israel visiting Migdal Ha'Emek, Tzfat, the Golan Heights and finally Tiberias. After leaving Jerusalem in the morning we went to Migdal Ohr which can be best described as a boarding school for underprivileged children or kids from broken homes. We arrived during recess so we had the chance to play a little soccer with them. It was fun except for the fact that the 10 year olds were a lot better than us. I played goalie which was for the best since I am really out of shape. We lost 1 to 0 but I had already subbed out by the time the kids scored. After recess ended we went inside to learn more about the school and the Rabbi who founded it. Unfortunately we had to go shortly thereafter and didn't really get a chance to do a whole lot with the kids.

We then moved onto Tzfat (or Sefat) which is one of the four holy cities in Judaism. Tzfat is suppose to be a very spiritual city and as such is filled with lots of artists. We met with one Avraham Lowenthal an American who moved to Israel to study the Kabbalah a few years back and now does Kabbalah themed paintings. Avraham reminded me of the hippies who show up at Whole Earth Festival in Davis every year. We had some free time for lunch so I finally got to taste some real falafel. Tucked inside some pita bread with hummus, cucumbers, cabbage and fries, the sandwich was great.

We left Tzfat and headed out to the hills in the Golan Heights. There we ditched the bus and picked up jeeps and drove around the hills with three locals. My driver was very entertaining, pointing out different plants and wildlife, proclaiming Israeli mangos to be the best in the world and giving us the history of the Golan. He also made tea from some natural leaves; it wasn't bad considering his limited resources.

Next we moved on to Tiberias where we stayed for the night. The only interesting thing there was Decks, a family style restaurant know for serving lots of meat. I'm guessing the place caters to tourists as we saw a big group from Birthright and another American group celebrating "William's" bar mitzvah.

Its now 4am and we're on the bus driving to Masada to see the sun rise. I've done it before but it should be fun.

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Day 2 in Israel

As we ride the bus North to visit Tzfat, I thought I'd recount yesterday. We started the day at the Western Wall, but instead of doing much at the Wall, we did a tour of the tunnels underneath the Old City. Apparently Jerusalem was rebuilt on top of itself many times and at one point the Muslim rulers decided to raise the city so that it was closer to the Temple Mount. After Israel captured East Jerusalem they increased the amount of digging and uncovered a big chunk of the western retaining wall of the second temple underground. We spent about an hour wondering around the tunnels with a great guide from Washington DC who moved to Israel in the 80's.

After the tunnels we had two lectures: the first with a former MIT physicist who has written extensively about reconciling biblical and scientific differences; and the second was another American now living in Israel who talked about what Judaism has to say about judging others. Both were engaging speakers which made up for the fact that the topics were a little too preechy for me.

We spent the first part of the afternoon ATV-ing in the Judean Desert. The ATVs were really just golf carts that were supped up with stronger engines, big tires and a good suspension system. Even though we didn't go as fast as I would have liked, it was still a fun experience. The desert is beautiful and there were enough big rocks and hills and valleys to get the off road experience.

After another short lecture we headed back to Jerusalem for dinner and a night out. We all went to Ben Yehuda Street (which is kinda like the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica) and had schwarma at from a street vendor. The food was good but not great but it was a fun place to sit and eat together.

After dinner we all went to a bar to celebrate my birthday and the birthday of another girl on the trip. A few shots and a couple of beers later we moved locations to a dance club and danced the night away.

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The Western Wall

Me at the Western Wall with Dome of the Rock in the background.

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Greetings from Israel

After three days in Prague and a hectic travel schedule we finally made it to Israel, flying into Tel Aviv around 3PM. First thing we did once we made it through passport control and customs was to drive out to Gush to go to an antiterrorist training camp. There we learned a little about urban combat tactics from some former Israeli special forces. More importantly, we for to shoot some guns. We shot about 5 rounds from three different guns: a micro-tovor on semiautomatic; an M16 on automatic; and a Glock 19 hand pistol. I have to day that in 10 years since I last shot a gun my aim has not improved.

After shooting some terrorists we headed to Jerusalem to out hotel for dinner. After dinner we spoke with an Israeli Arab journalist about the Israel-Palestine conflict. He was very critical of current Arab/Palestinian leadership and pessimistic about the immediate future. We only had an hour with him but I'm sure we could have spent half a day picking his brain about what's going on.

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That was Quick

Thanks to a very proactive member of our group, our travel situation has been resolved. We are now flying through Vienna, Austria tomorrow and getting to Tel Aviv only 12 hours later. We are spending an extra night in Prague, but Lufthansa is picking up the tab and rumor has it that American Express is picking up dinner (thanks to their travel protection thing). We only have to cancel one or two minor things in Israel, so this has worked out pretty well.

I'll try to find some time tonight to post about the last three days in Prague. But to sum it all up, they have been fun and really cold.

Stuck in Prague

Sorry this is my first update, my phone isn't working, so I have had limited access to the internet. Have people been watching the news lately? That horrible weather in Europe has wrecked havoc on travel and now my group is stuck in Prague. Our flight from Prague to Frankfurt was canceled. Our flight from Frankfurt to Tel Aviv, however, is still on schedule, so if we can somehow make it to Frankfurt, we can make it to Israel. I'll try to post again later.

Goodbyes

Today I had to say "goodbye" to two things: first was the unbelievably warm Southern Californian winter. Who would've guessed that I would've been in shorts and tank top on the beach in December? Not I. While today I awoke to rain and clouds, it still made it to 60 degrees. As I write, I'm 39,000 feet in the air on the way to Atlanta to spend two weeks with my parents. My flight was delayed an hour because of a threatening ice storm at my destination. Ice?! Crazy!!! I hauled out my massive wool winter coat to bring along on my journey. (I'm secretly excited it is cold in Atlanta - my wool coat is really cute and kept me very warm during last year's record D.C. snowfall. I was afraid I would never get to wear it again.) Perhaps I can tolerate the idea of it being literally freezing because I know I will be back in warmer weather in a mere fifteen days.

Second, I had to say goodbye to my dearest love and co-author, Mike. While I headed to Atlanta this afternoon, Mike is headed even further East to Prague and Israel tonight. Since we became engaged, the longest we have been apart has been 2 days. It is going to be a rough two weeks with us apart. I miss him already! There is an empty seat next to me on the plane that he would've fit quite well in. Or perhaps I'm sad that I'm not with him on his journey. I must admit that I'm a little jealous of his trip; I've never been to Prague or Israel, and really wanted to go. Alas, since I'm not a student, the Powers That Be weren't particularly keen on subsidizing me for a student-focused trip. Anyways, Mike has my camera (a nifty gift from him a few birthdays ago) and is instructed to take copious amounts of pictures. With any luck, he may be able to post an update or two, too.

We're Obviously Not From Around Here

Let's play a little game of "two of these things don't belong." I'll give you some clues as to what/who are the culprits.

Saturday night Mike and I were invited to an art show and fundraiser. Or so we thought. There was a small lapse in communication (you know the game Telephone you may have played in as a child when you pass the secret between people and it never comes out at the end as how it started? That's what we are talking about here). So, thinking we are going to an art show at a gallery, Mike and I got dolled up, because that is what you should do, right? Well, we get to the gallery, which is not a gallery at all, but the artist's studio, which we had to walk down a sketchy alley to find the door. That was clue #1. We were greeted at the door by girls in heels, tights, matching t-shirts, and trucker hats. Clue #2. One glance past the gals at the door revealed a small warehouse full of hundreds of huge canvases, paint splattered all over the ground... and people in designer jeans and the latest fashions. Clues #3, 4, and 5. We were absurdly overdressed, completely out of style (at least their style) and we didn't know a soul there.

The night got a lot better soon after. After a glass of wine, I didn't care as much that I looked like a Jackie O. compared to their Lady Gaga. The art was good, too. Our friends showed up soon after and we met one of the hosts of the event. One of the founders/designers of the Kush Collection explained to me that they were raising money for Operation Smile. Cool, I thought. We were then serenaded by a rapper (he was terrible, but what do I know about the qualities of a good rapper?) We went home after the raffle, where we didn't win Lakers tickets. Once home, Mike looked up the fashion line. Here comes clue #6: The Kush Collection is the self-proclaimed "leader in luxury streetwear" and their slogan is "High Quality for High Society." And we checked on their website: the t-shirts they were giving away as we walked out and the matching t-shirts that the girls were scampering around in are priced at $39 a pop. Clue #7.

If you guessed that Mike and I are the things that didn't belong, you are the big winner.

Beach Day

I know we've talked a lot about the weather lately, but it really is absurdly awesome. While the Midwest gets socked with 15+ inches of snow, its in the high 70's today. With such great weather, we thought it was only appropriate to spend the afternoon at the beach. So out came the beach towels and sunscreen. Hope everyone else is finding a way to stay warm.

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Afternoon in Malibu

Mike and I spent the afternoon at a Malibu vineyard. We tasted eight wines and took home a bottle. On the way home the sun was setting over the hills. This picture doesn't do it justice.

Also, in almost exactly 365 days we will be married!! Our date night continues in Hollywood for dinner and an improv show.
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I didn't wear a jacket today

And it is December 9th. And I'm in short sleeves. I'm just saying. I'm now sold on living in Southern California.

Mike is done with finals. I finally got to have a whole conversation with him today. It was nice, as I had missed him. We are going on a serious all-day date tomorrow which is going to be really awesome, especially because it is going to be our  (-1) anniversary. It is also supposed to be in the 70s tomorrow, too, so I may not even wear a jacket then either.

We also went out and celebrated the end of the quarter with his classmates tonight. I may have had a margarita... or 4.

Three down, one to go...

Sorry I've been kinda absent over the last few weeks, class and recruiting has been dominating my life. Well, the class part ends in about 12 hours when I finish my fourth final in four days. It started on Monday with Finance (which went well); Stats reared its ugly head yesterday and Accounting took its toll this morning. I've only got Econ left and its an open book, open note, open everything (except the internet) exam, so I'm not too worried about it. My Econ professor is very engaging, and I've enjoyed the class, so I'm hoping that I retained a good deal over the last 10 weeks.

A little update on the rest of my life: I'm going to Israel and the Czech Republic in a week. There's a small group in LA that organizes educational and networking events for Jewish business school students, one of which is a two-week trip to Israel over Christmas. Fortunately, the trip is heavily subsidized, so I get to frolic around Prague for three days and Israel for ten for less than the price of an airplane ticket from LA to Tel Aviv.

The flip side, however, is that I'll be leaving Megan for two weeks, and that will be hard especially after barely seeing her over the last month or so. But, with finals ending tomorrow and neither of us leaving until the 15th, we'll have a few days without any distractions. We've actually got a nice little date for Friday: we're using two Groupons we bought, one for a vineyard in Malibu and the other for a comedy club in Hollywood, and having a nice dinner out.

Like I said, one of the reasons I haven't seen Megan much lately is because of recruiting. On that front, I actually went up to Santa Clara last Friday for a "Day In The Life" at Abbott Labs. Abbott brought about 25 first-year MBA students from all over the country in for the day to learn more about the company and their Management Development Program, which is basically a three year rotational program for freshly minted MBAs. The day went well; I learned a lot about Abbott and potential jobs there and had the chance to meet a lot of current employees and pick their brains about life at Abbott. I'll apply in January for a summer internship, but who knows what will come of it. Other than Abbott, recruiting has calmed down over the last 10 or so days, which is nice as it allows us to prep for finals. There are a few resume deadlines for summer internships over winter break, but official recruiting is pretty much on hold until January.

I've Never Met Anyone Famous (kinda)... Until Now

As some may remember from a previous post, I've started playing tennis. I've joined an online group that connects tennis players in my area and at my skill level and we are responsible for contacting each other and setting up our own matches. I've only played twice, and both times with the same person. Shane (there is a dearth of female participants) and I have now played twice together. The first time I got the pants beat off me, 6-0, 6-0 (very, very bad - in fact the worst score ever - for those that don't play. But quite respectable for me since I haven't hit a ball in 5 years). The second time we just hit around for about an hour. He's a nice enough guy, though I don't know him well. We did get past the niceties however, and I learned that Shane is a professional poker player. Well tonight, 3 weeks into our acquittance, I decided to "Google him" and see if anything came up. Apparently, he is a an accomplished poker player, having made it onto ESPN's World Poker Series coverage in 2007. He has a Wikipedia entry, which means he's important. And a bio on Card Player, which is the self-proclaimed Poker Authority. He is also a fellow blogger.

Anyways, I feel super cool that I know someone who has been on cable TV.

In other, real-life news, Mike is preparing for finals this week. He has studied all day today. I'm looking forward to when this week is over, almost as much as he is. He did take a break last night (Saturday) to attend the UCLA/USC football game. UCLA lost badly. The highlight of the night was going to a Davidson Alumni gathering beforehand. We were the only ones there from our year, but it was nice to meet folks that have a deep seeded commonality. I took Mike to the game after, went home, and baked cookies (sadly, we weren't able to get me a ticket to the game). But the chocolate-mint cookies make my mouth water just thinking about them. Mike is lucky I shared them with him.

Cranberries and Artichokes

I made it back to LA as well Tuesday night after my flight was delayed several hours due to some extreme storms around Atlanta. I was greeted yesterday and today with bright blue skies and temperatures in the 70s. I'm already spoiled with this SoCal weather. Yesterday I played tennis in shorts and a t-shirt then went for a run on the beach. It was beautiful.

I thought today I would share a few recipes I've discovered and created. The first is Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Rosemary from Fine Cooking's "Make Ahead Holidays". Despite protests from my mom, I absolutely insisted that we have cranberries at Thanksgiving. I made half of this recipe, and Marc (Mike's dad) and I pretty much destroyed it during dinner. What little was left was spread over a round of baked Bree cheese and half a turkey sandwich. This is super easy, sweet and savory, and not too bitter. You better believe it will be making another appearance at Christmas.


Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Rosemary
24 oz fresh cranberries
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup fresh orange juice
4 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1 tsp. finely grated orange zest
In a large saucepan, bring the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, and rosemary to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 minute. (Some berries will have popped and some will be whole.) Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the zest. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Let the sauce cool to room temperature and then cover and refrigerate. Return to room temp before serving.
My notes: I let the sauce simmer about 3 minutes so that all the cranberries popped, making for more of a sauce instead of a chutney, and I didn't cover for 10 minutes to allow it to thicken slightly.  


My next dish I created last night. I had read an article in Real Simple magazine on the plane that gave lots of crostini (think "stuff on toast") combinations. One had artichokes in it, and ever since I read it I've wanted some 'chokes. Also, in Atlanta, I made a pasta salad that had sun-dried tomatoes in it, and I just couldn't get enough of them. So last night for what ended up being my dinner I made Meg's Artichoke and Sun-Dried Tomato Bruschetta. Some of my best meals are ones that I just make up without recipes. It includes a lot of tasting and adding things as I go (and that happen to be in my pantry.) Here's my best effort at recording what I made.

Meg's Artichoke and Sun-Dried Tomato Bruschetta
can of artichoke hearts (or you can use a jar or frozen ones), well drained
jar of sun-dried tomatoes, drained
olive oil
salt and pepper
red wine vinegar
basil
french bread, sliced and toasted
I used about a 3:1 ratio of artichokes to sun-dried tomatoes, which ended up being about half a can of artichokes and 3 or 4 medium-sized slices of tomatoes. Combine in food processor with some oil (enough to dribble around the food processor twice) and some vinegar (3 or 4 splashes).  Add a little salt and a few grinds of pepper. Pulse the blender until everything is well chopped up and incorporated, but don't go too far, since you want it to be a puree. Give it a taste. It will likely need more salt and pepper - add these until you
are satisfied with the seasonings. Give it a last pulse or two to re-stir the seasonings, then spoon out into a bowl. Add some chopped basil (fresh, if you have it. My little patio garden has some great tasting basil) and stir together, or use little leaves to garnish your creation. Top the toasted bread slices, sit on the couch with a good book and munch away. Clearly the serving size here is a little off - this was enough for a mini loaf of french bread and a rice cake. If you are feeding more than two people appetizers, you will want to make more. For variation, you can use chopped olives instead of tomatoes. Or ricotta cheese instead of the artichokes.