What The World Needs Now is Sanjaya!?!?!

Sanjaya Malakar has been in the news alot lately, in my case he is like an annoying song that you just can't get out of your head no matter how hard you try; the past week I've spent almost every day watching various clips of Sanjaya and other funny clips making fun of Sanjaya. Favorite clips of mine are the SNL skit this past week with Andy Samberg making fun of Sanjaya on Weekend Update, it is the funniest thing SNL has put out in years, seriously. DListed highlighted a funny little parody of Sanjaya with a funny Ballywood-like song about how the judges dislike Sanjaya but America thinks he's great. Also, "The Scoop" has a funny little skit called "House of Sanjaya", which is also very funny.

Last night's episode of AI was okay, like I said earlier I think the show has gone downhill this season. The judges should be kicking themselves over the choices they've made. My favorite performances this week were Blake, Jordin, Gina, and Lakisha. I just learned today that Chris Sligh was voted off, can't say I'm too surprised. He has been on a slump lately and anyway, I can't wait to see how Sanjaya will wear his hair next week.

Spring is Here : )

Another week seems to go by so fast. The past few days have been a whirlwind of fun activities and Pesach preparations.

My mom's birthday brunch on Sunday was wonderful. It was the immediate family and some close family friends. We went to a beautiful restaurant at the Grounds for Sculpture, a beautiful park in Hamilton, NJ. The restaurant has many side rooms with beautiful paintings and a few sculptures to look at. Unfortunately (for me), the restaurant isn't kosher so I kind of cheated a bit : ( I had some salad, a little bit of fruit, and the salmon dish. Dessert has always been such a weakness for me, that is my one indulgence. It's not a good day unless I have a little chocolate.

I went to an interesting lecture on Tues. night, it was a womens' lecture from Holly Pavlov, the head of Shearim, the seminary I studied at over the summer. This lecture will be referred to in a future post. This month, I signed up for a weekly lecture over the phone from a rabbi in Israel, the lectures focus on how you can use the holidays as tools for personal growth. Again, another blog post will be devoted to this.

I've also been exploring new dance classes; last night I took a jazz/funk class at a popular dance studio on the west side. It was an open class, meaning the class is appropriate for all levels. In this specific case, I have to disagree. This class is not meant for beginners. I knew when we were doing warmups that I would be in trouble, and I am not a beginner. So, we were learning a routine and I was lost from the beginning. That is not a feeling I'm used to, I normally get dance routines pretty quickly. Maybe the fact that we were dancing with hats threw me off a bit. I am not used to dancing with props and it does make learning the routine harder, at least it did for me. Looking back, I really should have just tried to learn the routine without the hat and then when I knew the routine better, I would insert the hat in. In my opinion, the hats were pretty lame but when I heard the song we were dancing to, it made sense. I will say it is a Michael Jackson song that was very popular in the late 80s...think about it, an MJ song where a hat played a prominent part in the video.

One thing the instructor said was that you needed attitude in order to do the routine well. Attitude is one thing I have in abundance so I knew that as long as I had the attitude, I would be okay. This instructor is teaching again on Sunday afternoon so I might try it out again. I think you should always give something at least two tries before you decide whether or not to quit.

On a frivolous note, this season of American Idol sucks compared to previous seasons. Thanks to You Tube, I've been watching older performances of AI and am reminded of how good other seasons were and how much this season stinks.

Sanjaya Malakar provided an unintentionally hillarious performance this week of "You Really Got Me"; after watching it 2-3 times I have to say it is funny each time. You find something new to laugh at each time. For the past 2 mornings, I've been watching his performance for a much needed dose of laughter to start off my day.

Thanks to message boards, I also watched John Steven's performance of "Crocodile Rock" from Season 3, and that is also hysterical. Ryan Starr's rendition of "You Really Got Me" and "Last Dance" are also hillarious. I don't know what is more funny, her singing or her outfits. I also got to re-watch her singing "Frim Fram Sauce", when she was on Surreal Life she was painting herself as a rocker and I was thinking "Rockers don't sing 'Frim Fram Sauce'...there was this one verse how she's singing about wanting Frim Fram Sauce with blah blah blah on the side, if anyone can fill in the blank, that would be fabulous.

When you think of hillarious American Idol performances, you have to think of William Hung. After 3 years, I can tell you that I still laugh when I see him perform She Bangs. It is messed up when he gets a record deal and people who have been performing for years and are genuinely talented don't get deals but we all know that we live in an imperfect world. So this is my new morning routine, watching a few funny performances on American Idol off of You Tube. There is nothing better than starting the day off with laughter.

Snowing in March?!?!

I'm typing from my little piece of NYC; after a few saturday nights out, it is nice to have a quiet night in listening to music, returning phone calls, surfing the web, and last but not least, blogging.

Lately, I've been getting back in touch with something I used to love to do when I was a kid. I used to take ballet and jazz classes. Now, I still take dance classes but replace ballet and jazz with hip hop and belly dancing. Yes, I signed up for a 6 week belly dancing class that started last week. I've been enjoying them immensely, and I think my future husband will enjoy them too : )
I also take hip hop classes once a week and look forward to trying a jazz funk class this coming week.

I had dinner with the rabbi from my synagogue. It was a great opportunity to spend time with him and his wonderful family. Lately, I've been falling in love again with my community. I go to intermediate level services in a huge modern orthodox synagogue. I've been going to these services for a year. I joke with people that I never want to graduate from these services. What is so wonderful about these services? The melodies are inspiring, you are encouraged to ask questions about the prayers, and the Torah reading is inspiring. We talk about each part of the reading. The people that go to these services are genuinely interested in Judaism, in growth, and the services have been growing steadily. It is the best feeling when you find your niche in Judaism and this is it for me : )

Lunch was awesome, I was invited by a friend in the community who I don't get to spend much time with and I met a cool group of people. I spent the rest of Shabbas there, there was much eating, talking, and laughing. I laughed so much that my stomach hurt, great times : ) Tomorrow is my mom's birthday brunch, and then another work week ahead....

All Moved In

Now that I have been in my new office for a little more than 2 weeks, I have a clearer idea of the positives and negatives of this work related move.

Positives

1. I work 4 blocks closer to home which means I can sleep in an extra 5 minutes : )

2. It is easier for me to take a lunch break at the kosher bagel place in the neighborhood, it is only a 5 minute walk now from my office to the bagel place.

Negatives

1. I share an office now.

2. My office does not have a door.

3. My work space is significantly smaller than before.

4. The office temperature is significantly colder, especially when I have to walk in the halls to go to our other suites on the basement level of the building.

Sometimes You Just Have To Say What The F*ck

Last night at Brandy's, I had some gay guy ask me if he could try on my glasses. Initially I thought it was a really messed up pick up line except I saw him with his boyfriend. Then, later on, some older guy asked my friend if he could try on her glasses. People are very strange...

A Friday Meme

I got this meme from the Matzah and Marinara blog, anyone who wants to do this be my guest.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:45
2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Breach
4. What is your favorite TV show? Alltime? Now, I love "Heroes" and "Ugly Betty". All time, I used to love watching "Family Ties" and "Wonder Years" with my family.
5. What did you have for breakfast? Honey Combs with milk
6. What is your middle name? don't have a middle name
7. What is your favorite cuisine? indian or italian
8. What foods do you dislike? mushrooms, olives, anchovies
9. What are your favorite chips? Terra Chips
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I'm digging 2 CDs right now, Robin Thicke -Evolution of Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake - Future Sex/Love Sounds
11. What kind of car do you drive? I don't have a car now; when I did have a car, I used to drive a Mitsubishi Mirage.
12. Favorite sandwich? cheese sandwich (perferably Muenster cheese)
13. What are characteristics you can't stand? I hate when people are extremely judgmental and narrow minded, impatience and lack of diplomacy are pretty high up there as well.
14. What are your favorite clothes? Casual wear: blue jeans and a white T-shirt; Shabbat and Holidays: a black suit that I bought in Boro Park, gray pencil skirt from H&M paired with any colorful shirt I have (red, blue, pink); winter clothes: pink turtleneck from the Gap, long gray knit skirt; summer clothes: variety of sundresses that are not tznius (modest), red bikini with red sarong over it (there's a story behind how I got the bikini and sarong); can you tell I love clothes? : )
15. If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would it be? Italy or Spain
16. Favorite brand of clothing? don't really have one; like to shop at consignment stores in my 'hood
17. Where would you want to retire? either Herzliya, Israel, somewhere in Florida, or San Diego
18. Favorite time of day? evening
19. Where were you born? Israel
20. Where have you lived? Israel (very briefly, blink and you miss it brief), Maryland, New Jersey, and New York
21. What is your favorite sport to watch? NBA, tennis, soccer, figure skating (particularly Brian Boitano, Elvis Stojko, Scott Hamilton, Surya Bonaly and her crazy back flips)
22. Coke or Pepsi? Coke
23. Beavers or ducks? Ducks, although not so much when you're driving and a group of them cross the street and you have to wait for what seems like an eternity
24. Are you a morning person or a night owl? been known to stay out all night on occasion (like not getting home until 2, 3, even 4 in the morning)
25. Pedicure or manicure? love both, such a great way to pamper yourself
26. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? nothing comes to mind
27. What did you want to be when you were little? an entertainer (singer, dancer, actor)
28. What is your best childhood memory? all the day trips and vacations I went on with my family (New York, cherry blossoms in DC, etc)
29. Piercing? None
30. Ever been to Africa? No
31. Ever been toilet papering? no
32. Been in a car accident? yes, 2 (I was driving in both accidents but no one was hurt, thank G-d)
33. Favorite day of the week? Saturday (cause it's Shabbas and I don't have to rush from place to place like I usually do)
34. Favorite restaurant? non-kosher - Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesdays (great salad bar); kosher places: Nargila Grill (I feel like I'm back in Israel everytime I eat there) and U Cafe (great dairy cafe, the owner is such a good guy and the wait staff is extremely nice)
35. Favorite flower? stargazer lilies and orchids
36. Favorite ice cream? Ben and Jerry's Phish Food, Haagen Daaz Mayan Chocolate
37. Favorite fast food restaurant? used to love McDonalds french fries and chicken nuggets
38. How many times did you fail your driver's test? passed the first time
39. From whom did you get your last e-mail? one of my Aish friends
40. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Tough one; either Macy's or Bloomingdales
41. Bedtime? 11:30
42. Last person you went to dinner with? someone I really like :)
43. What are you listening to right now? phones ringing, pieces of conversation from co-workers
44. What is your favorite color? purple, blue, gray
45. How many tattoos do you have? none
46. Favorite magazines? Glamour and People (for times when I don't want to be intellecutally stimulated), Newsweek, NY Times magazine (for times when I want to be intellectually stimulated)

Watching American Idol aka Wading in a Sea of Suck

American Idol is pretty disappointing so far, the most memorable moments are not the actual singing (with the exception of Melinda and Lakisha) but the Antonella Barba pictures and Sanjaya's hair.

Last night was so mediocre, Blake started off the show nicely, I have not heard that 311 song in years, it brought me back to college days. I will boldly predict that he will win this season of American Idol. However, I am not one to bet on. I remember last year I predicted that Chris Daughtry and Mandisa will be the final two contestants. I was 0 for 2 on that one.

There were some interesting song choices last night, particularly Phil Stacy singing a Lee Ann Rimes song. I remember a few years back when Trenyce sang that song and just killed it. Phil hit some pretty rank notes, that seems to be a bad habit of his. Most likely, he will make the final 12 and you will have to hear him hit more rank notes.

In previous years, there was a sense of excitement over who would make it in the final 12 and I loved predicting who would blossom over the course of the competition and who would wilt. Now, with the exception of Blake, Melinda, Lakisha, Chris S. and Chris R. I don't really give a crap. I'm not as invested in the singers as I was in previous years. It's a combination of a group of not so good contestants and me having a very busy life lately. If Sanjaya and/or Antonella make it in the final 12, you bet I will be calling and calling for every other contestant in that show. I do not want a replay of Jasmine Trias and John Stevens outlasting far worthier contestants.

Purim 2007 aka Party All Night Long

Purim 2007 most definitely made up for Purim 2006. Last year, I had to work my part time job the night of Purim and had to work the following day so I didn't dress up in costume and didn't go party-hopping. This year was a different story.

This year, I got a long purple wig which I wore with an all black outfit. It was awesome to see how some people really dressed up with masks, wigs, even costumes. I started off at KJ for the Megilla reading, then went to the West Side with a few people for more parties. We started off at The Parlour, we went to the downstairs section where it very quickly got crowded and uncomfortable. There was hip hop music playing, the vibe was very mellow and friendly. We went over to BJ where there was a disco dance party. It was very disconcerting at first to hear loud dance music in a synagogue, but the party was quite awesome. I did see someone dressed as a pregnant nun, that was pretty traumatic. The last party of the night was at Carlebach Shul, there was a band and plenty of food. The music reminded me of a Grateful Dead concert, all the songs seem to be one endless jam and you don't know where it starts or ends. I think you have to be stoned to even enjoy this music, or at least I would have to be since I didn't enjoy the music while sober.

After little sleep, I made a Shaloch Manos (little packages of food ready to eat, you give them to friends and family, really all about unity of the Jewish people) delivery, then spent a little time with my parents, who, much to my suprise, were in the city. KJ had a little Purim party in a bar in Midtown East, I got to hear the Megilla again and did some more shmoozing. I got a call from my friend in Brooklyn inviting me to a Purim Seudah (meal). After initially rejecting the idea of going all the way to Brooklyn, I decided to overcome my urge to be a lazy bum and go to Brooklyn. The meal was in Kensington, the host family really put me at ease. Imagine going into a new place and seeing a bunch of people you don't know, thankfully the host came up to me and said "Oh, you must be ______'s friend, I'm _____,..." My friends came in shortly after me and we ate lots of food, exchanged jokes, heard the host talk about insights from Purim. I will admit that I zoned out during the host's talks, my lack of sleep was quickly catching up with me : ) After the wild partying that I did last night, it was a welcome change of pace to go to a nice Purim meal in Brooklyn and to get to talk with new friends. Then, we visited my friend's family in Boro Park. I didn't get home until 11 PM and got to work a little late the next day.
To all who celebrated Purim, hope you had a wonderful holiday : )

Pre-Purim fun

We end the week almost like we started it, instead of snow we get lots of rain. There have been lots of fun events to go to in the days leading up to Purim. I went to one of those fun events Tuesday night. The event was at the Kaye Playhouse in Hunter College, it was a fun play about a group of men wanting to stage a Purim shpiel (a play that's mean to be humorous). The show was staged by a Yiddish theatre company. The best part was that it was free. I was plesantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the play, it was appropriate for kids and adults. Going to this play was a nice antidote for hearing about all the crap going on with Britney, Anna Nicole, etc.

I watched a full episode of American Idol on Wednesday night, hearing some of the judges' comments reminded me of a discussion I had with my parents several years ago. I noticed that when a few of the female contestants had bad performances, Paula and/or Randy started off by telling these women that they looked beautiful. At my first job out of college, we had 2 days of workshops for staff only before the school year began. One of these workshops was on how to give constructive feedback. We learned that the criticism has to be sandwiched between a positive statements in the beginning and end. I told my parents this and they laughed. The Israeli way is to be very blunt, sometimes to the point of rudeness (or at least I've been told). We came up with a rule that for every bad thing you say about someone in the house, you have to say 3 nice things about that same person. My dad asked me if he could say "You look nice today" as one of the 3 nice things. Apparently, Randy and Paula believe very strongly in telling contestants who can't sing well that they look nice today.

I watched parts of the last half of American Idol last night. I was not surprised when Alaina and Nick were voted off but was kind of pissed that AJ was voted off. I haven't been that pissed about someone leaving this early in the competition since Judd Harris left. Somehow I think we'll be seeing AJ again, most likely in some happy broadway show. I'm not happy that Antonella is still in the competition, yes she is representing for Jersey but she is doing a real crappy job of it. I cringed throughout her performance (if that's what you want to call it) on Wed., if she makes it into the final 12 over more talented people, I will be very unhappy. I've already resigned myself to Sanjaya being in the final 12, he's cute and has better hair than me. I might actually have to vote next week for women who I feel could be in danger and right now I think that's Jordin, Gina, and/or Stephanie. I also learned that singing "Feeling Good" is a ticket back home and that Kellie Pickler is still as annoying as ever but she has great taste in shoes.