Friday Five Business Trip

Friday Five: Business Trip

"So for today's Friday Five, we're invited to share your experiences with the exciting, challenging world of business travel.... "

1. Does your job ever call for travel? Is this a joy or a burden?
It does call for travel once or twice a year and it's some of both. I have the hardest time saving receipts and locating them after and finally filling out all the required forms to get reimbursement (from the government I work for.) Some folks in my office travel frequently-I'd venture to say they abuse the the privilege- as I'm the training coordinator on top of everything else-but that wouldn't be nice.

2. How about that of your spouse or partner?
She loves to travel to the places she goes, though she gets to go to nice places in the US for longer periods of time. I often meet her and we make a vacation of it. Orlando, Las Vegas, Dallas to name a few.

3. What was the best business trip you ever took?
When I was in my previous career, It was to Chicago for an afternoon meeting with two of my office chums. We made a weekend of it, it was summer and we had a great time-or so I remember it. Swimming in Lake Michigan and various other sport.

4. ...and the worst, of course?
Just some of the more boring ones. Can't say I can pick one.

5. What would make your next business trip perfect?
Perhaps if it were out of NY State for once! Unlikely that would happen since I work for the state, but the training agency also trains Puerto Rico, so maybe someday they'll send us there...fat chance in this economy.

Sarah Silverman- the Great Schlep

I'm not Jewish, but my inlaws are...

Priest comes out against Proposition 8

My friend Roe sent me this. Going against the archbishop, this priest preached his heart and jeopardized his career and vocation.

 

Incredible Edible Meme

This is a list of food and drink that someone -- I forget who -- thinks we all need to taste before we die. The boldfaced items are things that I myself have actually eaten.

1. Venison.
2. Nettle tea.
3. Huevos rancheros.
4. Steak tartare. 
5. Crocodile.
6. Black pudding.
7. Cheese fondue.
8. Carp.
9. Borscht. 
10. Baba ghanoush. 
11. Calamari. 
12. Pho. Yum, good soup
13. PB&J sandwich.
14. Aloo gobi. delish Indian veggies
15. Hot dog from a street cart. In NY we call them dirty water hot dogs.
16. Epoisses.
17. Black truffle. but rarely...
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes. but not recently...
19. Steamed pork buns. lunch on the run
20. Pistachio ice cream. I prefer chocolate
21. Heirloom tomatoes. All over the farmers market
22. Fresh wild berries. 
23. Foie gras. No liver for me forced or otherwise!
24. Rice and beans. All over my neighborhood!
25. Brawn, or headcheese. Yuck!
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper. Too hot!
27. Dulce de leche. Yum. Sold at Big Bootly bakery -makin my booty to big!
28. Oysters. I've caught and opened my own on the east end of Long Island in December
29. Baklava.
30. Bagna cauda. 
31. Wasabi peas. From the corner Korean 24 hour fruit stand
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl. I prefer Manhattan-the red one.
33. Salted lassi. (I'll salt anything!)
34. Sauerkraut. 
35. Root beer float. When I was a kid
36. Cognac with a fat cigar. A without B, No phallic symbols necessary!
37. Clotted cream tea. at the Plaza Hotel
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O. 
39. Gumbo.
40. Oxtail. 
41. Curried goat. very delicious and delicate at multicultural day at the office-my office-very multicultural-3 people from Africa, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Russia, Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Gay (3, at least), not, Irish, various other islands with delicious foods. That's all I can remember right now.  

42. Whole insects. in Broccoli of course. Ultra-Orthodox Jews consider it to be not kosher because it can't be cleaned properly!
43. Phaal. hot stuff
44. Goat's milk. as cheese
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$130 or more. not recently but delicious
46. Fugu. I've caught and eaten the North American form-small blow fish- which is delicious!

47. Chicken tikka masala.
48. Eel. Also caught and eaten, at night, while drunk.
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut.
50. Sea urchin.
51. Prickly pear. 
52. Umeboshi.
53. Abalone. Once on Fisherman's Wharf  in SF on my 16th birthday. Hated it!
54. Paneer.
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal. I don't like all the gunk they put on it. 
56. Spaetzle. 
57. Dirty gin martini.
58. Beer above 8% ABV. but not recently
59. Poutine. 
60. Carob chips. Yuck again. Who said this was any replacement for chocolate!
61. S'mores.
62. Sweetbreads. Not sweet and not bread.
63. Kaolin. Wikipedia said this is clay in which case I've eaten it as a kid.
64. Currywurst. 
66. Frogs' legs. tiny bones
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake.  Yes to all, # 2 with chocolate dip
68. Haggis. oh no! On Robert Burns birthday, we were at a wonderful place called Mohonk Mountain House. The Burns Society was there celebrating Scottish culture in full regalia-it was beautiful. Haggis,  was on the menu, marched in, presented, and served to every diner. One of our party actually ate it then had an allergic reaction. Fortunately, Mohonk is so big, they keep a doctor on premised every weekend!

69. Fried plantain.
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette. My sphincter tightens
71. Gazpacho. 
72. Caviar and blini. yum I wish I could afford it
73. Louche absinthe. 
74. Gjetost, or brunost. 
75. Roadkill. 
76. Baijiu. 
77. Hostess Fruit Pie.
78. Snail. like eating little rubber bands

79. Lapsang souchong. tea
80. Bellini. But not recently
81. Tom yum. lots of Thai restaurant in my neighborhood and I love the flavors
82. Eggs Benedict. not so much any more, too rich
83. Pocky. 

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. It was an anniversary outing.
From the NY Times: "It's not hard to understand why New Yorkers keep a warm spot in their hearts for Chanterelle." I'm not sure how many courses we had, but dessert was 3, which won my heart!
85. Kobe beef. also too rich and too soft
86. Hare. little bones
87. Goulash. 

88. Flowers. I've had fried squash blossoms stuffes with something
89. Horse.
90. Criollo chocolate.
91. SPAM. I used to make sandwiches for may father, but never tasted the stuff
92. Soft shell crab. but I prefer picking the hard shell guys
93. Rose harissa. 
94. Catfish.
95. Mole poblano. 
96. Bagel and lox. Popular in NYC, though most people eat nova which is less salty, I love the salty belly lox. Note to "L Word":  They use lox in Japanese restaurants here in maki rolls-with cream cheese!
97. Lobster Thermidor. Not anymore, way too rich!
98. Polenta. love it
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.

If you read this, you're tagged!

A Franciscan Friday Five

Sally said: “I would like to dedicate this Friday Five to St Francis of Assisi.”
She posted a Friday dedicated to St. Francis, as this is his feast day.

1. Saint Francis experienced a life changing call, has anything in your journey so far challenged you to alter your lifestyle?
Several things have done so. I worked in the interior design business from 1972 to about 1985, first in the design end and in the business end. In 1985, you mar remember, we were in the early days of the AIDS epidemic and the design business was hit hard, with my clients and colleagues getting sick and dying on a daily basis. It had a profound effect on me and forced me to reevaluate my vocational life and eventually to return to school and eventually to become a counselor.


2. Francis experienced mocking and persecution, quite often in the comfortable west this is far from our experience. If you have experienced something like this how do you deal with it, if not how does it challenge you to pray for those whose experience is daily persecution?
Well, there was coming out. Worrying about being discovered, being rejected, being declared mentally ill-we're talking about the late 60's here! It took moving from Ohio to NY in 1972 to actually act on my orientation. On a much smaller level, As an person of Italian heritage attending an Irish Catholic parochial school I took a lot of ribbing and was occasionally treated as a second class citizen. (still don’t reply to their alumni donation requests…) so there!


3 .St Francis had female counterpart in St Clare, she was influenced by St Francis sermon and went on to found the Poor Clare's, like the Franciscans they depended on alms this was unheard of for women in that time, but she persisted and gained permission to found the order. How important are role models like St Clare to you? Do you have a particular female role model whose courage and dedication inspires you? If so share their story....
I have lots of female role models. I’ll think of a particular one to post later. A lot of them are part of this group!

4. Francis loved nature and animals, how important is an expressed love of the created world to the Christian message today?
Nature is important to all of the spiritual world, not just Christian.

5. On a lighter note; have you ever led a service of blessing for animals, or a pet service, was it a success, did you enjoy it, and would you do it again?
No, can't say as I have not have I been to one.

Seen on the way to work in the NY Subway

That is a hospital gown he's wearing.

Friday Five-Johnny Appleseed

Raise your hand if you know that today is Johnny Appleseed Day!

September 26, 1774 was his birthday. Johnny Appleseed" (John Chapman) is one of America's great legends. He was a nurseryman who started out planting trees in western New York and Pennsylvania, but he was among those who were captivated by the movement west across the continent.

As Johnny travelled west (at that time, the "West" was places like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois) he planted apple trees and sold trees to settlers. With every apple tree that was planted, the legend grew. A devout Christian, he was known to preach during his travels. According to legend, Johny Appleseed led a simple life and wanted little. He rarely accepted money and often donated any money he received to churches or charities. He planted hundereds of orchards, considering it his sevice to humankind. There is some link between Johny Appleseed and very early Arbor Day celebrations.

So, in honor of this interesting fellow, let's get on with the questions!

1. What is your favorite apple dish? (BIG BONUS points if you share the recipe.)
I love apple pie. Don't have time now to look up my mothers recipe, maybe later. She made a good one. Actually, every kind of pie she made was wonderful.

2. Have you ever planted a tree? If so was there a special reason or occasion you can tell us about?
I planted a lot of trees when I had a country house. Two I remember were housewarming gifts from Ronnie Bamberger and Olga. They were Italian prune plums because she remembered that we had an orchard of them when I was growing up. The deers got them, alas.

3. Does the idea of roaming around the countryside (preaching or otherwise) appeal to you? Why or why not?
I like the idea of roaming around the country meeting people, but not preaching. Maybe working for lgbt rights or just traveling.

4. Who is a favorite "historical legend" of yours?
I love the Groundhog, that harbinger of spring. Groundhog Day is my favorite unsung holiday.

5. Johnny Appleseed was said to sing to keep up his spirits as he travelled the roads of the west. Do you have a song that comes when you are trying to be cheerful, or is there something else that you often do?
From Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis, the Musical! (the one with Lucille Ball-couldn't find the Broadway either one)
.

Perplexed in Church

In the middle of my "church search" I've become complacent. I found a group of Catholic Lesbians and a Jesuit run Catholic church which seems to welcome their lesbian and gay parishioners, with announcements in the bulletin for our meetings! (We're having a recently ordained woman priest at our next meeting and in yesterdays bulletin there was an announcement in a with a border! If the archbishop finds out we'll all be excommunicated...)
Well, to get to the point, I went to an actual mass, after attending meetings for a year and a half, when my Ohio family visited. It wasn't so bad and all my friends were there. They went to brunch after. So I've been going to mass every once in awhile, maybe twice a month. It's been...pleasant, although not quite what I'm looking for, but part of what I'm looking for is community and that was there. Yesterday I attended mass. One of my group said to me, "What are you doing here?" I was dumbfounded. Then I felt guilty-from my years of Catholic schooling. Then I became defensive-with my whole spiel about discernment and searching and attending other churches. I sat through the beginning of the service unable to concentrate on spiritual things, obsessing on what I perceived to be a slight or comment on not attending every week (like a good little Catholic girl.) I finally passed a note saying "I should have said to you: 'I'm here doing what every one else is doing.'
After the service, my regular group disappeared, some to do tabling in the church, my critic to have coffee with her special friend. I was alone to process my thoughts. It may be time to stop my complacency and find a place that will truly serve my needs with a woman on the altar and no childhood baggage.

NYSRA

I just spent Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at NYSRA the New York State Rehabilitation Association Leadership Summit in Albany, NY. I confess, my primary motivation was to get continuing education hours to renew my certification-100 hrs every 5 years. But this was one of the best conferences I have ever attended.
I got some very frightening information on how the Armed Services and the VA are treating PTSD and other injuries. They 'send the soldier for a little r&r' and then back into battle with the intention that the the PTSD will 'go away.' They medicate soldiers while they are in battle with very serious psychotropic medications, so that by the time they actually get to the VA for treatment, they have two problems, PTSD and addiction to prescription medications. Then real and complicated treatment begins for those vets who actually make it into the VA and aren't just medicating themselves with alcohol and more drugs.
I also heard a speaker, William Stillman
, a man with Aspergers syndrome who works as an advocate for individuals with Aspergers and Autism. He is the author of a number of books and made a lot of sense when it comes to the treatment of these individuals. 
I attended a session on the treatment of young people with complex trauma. Wow, so interesting yet so sad.
I met with old friend and made new friends. All in all worth way more than those ceu's!

Fall Equinox Friday Five

Illustration from the "I Love NY" Website NY Leaves!
Fall Equinox Friday Five
It's that time of year, at least north of the equator. The windows are still open, but the darned furnace comes on early in the morning. My husband went out for a walk after an early supper and came home in full darkness.

And yes, where we live, leaves are beginning to turn.

As this vivid season begins, tell us five favorite things about fall:

1) A fragrance
Back in Ohio, growing up, the smell of burning leaves was a favorite fragrance of fall. We don't have that here. But, here, the lack of outstanding smells hearkens the the coming of autumn.

2) A color
Darker colors in clothes, browns, greens. A change from summer.

3) An item of clothing
Well, I have to go our storage container and fast. It's two blocks away. Tweeds, maybe a jacket. Or jackets and blazers in general. Long pants on the weekend. Boots-like the great black ones I got last spring at Woodbury Commons and have never worn!

4) An activity
Enjoying walking around my favorite city, again! Not just rushing from ac's place to ac'd place!

5) A special day
Columbus Day is always nice. A holiday without particular strings. I'm also looking forward to election day this year, and how!