Snow days

I can't help myself! It's an everyday overabundance of cuteness.

brightening my days

Barkly with Susan (l) and Biggie with Kelly (r) at work. Dream dogs.

finally published: Monologues for Calculating the Density of Black Holes by Anders Nilsen
reliving the eighties: Genesis (on repeat)
favorite new cold remedy: Acai Berry Emergen-C
wishing: the groundhog hadn't seen his stinkin' shadow

weekend activities

Alexis at her boyfriend's birthday party. (Joe took this genius photo.)


Keeping ourselves entertained at the weird "Mexican" restaurant, which felt like New York's version of TGI Friday's.


Saturday morning, there was a Counter Culture coffee cupping in Brooklyn at Root Hill Coffee Shop. We blind-tasted two coffees against this rare coffee, which costs about $500 a pound from Indonesia. The rare coffee is made from a cat-like animal called an Asian Palm Civet that eats coffee cherries then poops them out.


Here's Katie, our Counter Culture barrista, demonstrating slurping.


Josh and Paige, highly caffeinated life learners.


Joe, ready for the tasting to end and the serious coffee drinking to begin.


Paige kind of looks like the Asian Palm Civet in this picture.


I guessed right: the coffee all the way on the right is the poop coffee.


And then, predictably Joe and I made more honey oatmeal bread.


Six loaves to be exact.

Spoiled!

My days at work are all about the most amazing coffee I've ever had. If Counter Culture is a cult, then sign me up. This morning, we're drinking La Golondrina, our second favorite variety from the tasting we had yesterday.


A new, fabulous Designed-and-Cut-by-Veronica Haircut to go with a perfect cup of coffee.

Have mercy!

The picture above was taken only a couple of hours before Joe and I watched the worst movie of our lives, the movie which stole almost three hours from our lives. As if we were needing convincing of the excruciating claustrophobia that is the banality of 1970s-housewife-domesticity, Jeanne Dielman took care of any doubts. For the record, I can take slow-moving films (two beautiful examples: Silent Light and I Don't Want to Sleep Alone), but I have my limits, particularly when it comes to repetition. Like many other people in the audience, we ended up leaving the theater half an hour before the film was finished. This 201-minute film could have been edited to 45 minutes. Or, even better, this film should have been projected in a gallery space where I would have had the freedom to stop, view, and walk away. Everyone around us took turns checking their cell phones, retreating to the bathroom, or napping. I don't think I've ever napped at the movies before Jeanne Dielman. The man sitting to my left took a nap, then woke up and shushed me because I was whispering to Joe, and then fell back to sleep.

Finally, we fled.

The New York Times raved and Time Out NY gave this film six-out-of-six stars, a write-up that is unheard of from the film critics at Time Out. What gives? Torture is not the answer. Tedium and suffering are not necessary devices in order to create an effective film. The film was effective: this was the most amount of time that Joe and I have been bored to the brink together.

Maybe it's time for a break from all this movie watching. Is that even possible?

Crafting? Gili? Really?

Craft day in the East Village with my adorable coworkers.


The main artist at work led the workshop. We were told to sew dolls by hand, to make up our own patterns.


Kelly, hard at work on her animal.


Here's the beginnings of my Eileen Fisher inspired, linen jellyfish. The bottom fabric will eventually become the legs. Let it be known that I have never sewn anything (or had the desire to sew anything) by hand in my entire life.

Last night I had sushi with Denise at our favorite spot, Shima.

Then Joe and I ran across town to see Waltz with Bashir. I am still processing the power of this film. It's a psychological piece, inside the minds of Israeli soldiers, dealing with post traumatic stress experiences. Afterward, I couldn't stop thinking about what soldiers are expected to live through. How can a person live through so much and go on? The brain is such a powerful organ, developing coping mechanisms like memory loss for processing trauma on such grand scales. If you have the opportunity to see this film, go while it's still on the big screen.

!!!!-!!!!

Lately, each day feels like more of a celebration than the previous one.

I know I promised no more Gili-the-Homemaker posts for a while, but I can't stop baking. Maybe it's a winter thing. Forgive me. To celebrate CHANGE (Obama), HOPE (Obama), LOVE (Obama), and my coworkers' birthdays, I tried out a couple of new recipes, chocolate-zucchini mini-cupcakes (yes, you read that correctly) with sourcream chocolate frosting.

Tomorrow, my test audience (my coworkers) will let me know if this is just a really weird trick to get children to eat zucchini or if this is indeed a good idea. We're having a crafting party all day in the East Village to celebrate two of their birthdays.

I'm shy about talking about the inauguration since I'm not sure I can contribute anything to the conversation that hasn't already been said. What will it be like to live in a country with such a decline in cynicism and despair? Since noon today, I think most of us are breathing a lot easier.

Embarrassed to quote Sade, but I will anyway: "It's only love that gets you through." Feeling that right now.

All my cheesiness is flooding back. Forty-four exclamation points.

According to the Wikipedia entry:

Forty-four is a tribonacci number, a happy number and an octahedral number.

Since the greatest prime factor of 442 + 1 = 1937 is 149 and thus more than 44 twice, 44 is a Størmer number.

The aliquot sequence of 44 is (44,40,50,43,1,0).

44 is the number of derangements of 5 items.

***

None of that means anything to me. All I know is that we're so blessed.

Shhh, it's snowing.

Snow is finally here. Work gets better everyday. Today I sat in the kitchen on the eighth floor of the building where I work, watching the snow fall, the aroma of freshly baked macaroons and coffee all around me. Why is snow associated with quiet? Why do I feel more introspective when it's snowing?

Happy MLK Day!

Could they get more grossly domestic?

winter = hibernation = baking


Honey oatmeal bread was the special of the day.


Joe wrestles the loaf.


One loaf for my workplace and one loaf for us.


Insert cutesy pun: Yummy, any way you slice it.


I realize all these domestic activities may translate into annoying blog updates. I'm going to make a concerted effort to tone it down.

bits and pieces

Sorry I've been so behind on blog updates. This past week I started my new job, and there hasn't been a lot of downtime.

I watched one of the worst movies I've seen, Revolutionary Road. I knew from the preview that I would hate the adaptation, but it was a free viewing, so I thought I'd give it a try. I've been a Richard Yates fan since high school, but his work doesn't translate into contemporary film. Why does every book have to be made into a movie? Don't answer that; I understand more than I wish I did.

Tried to go to the MOMA last night. Joe and I saw a little bit of everything, but Free Friday Nights are such a mess of people that it ends up feeling like I'm shopping at the mall.

I love a vice president who says things like:
“I’m the most experienced vice president since anybody.” (Joe Biden, last Wednesday.)

Tuesday's the BIG day! How excited are we? I wish I could go to DC for the festivities. Seems like one of the most not-to-be-missed events in my lifetime, but sadly I will have to settle for watching the inauguration on the television at work.

Speaking of television, tonight I'm going to watch the first episode of season three of Friday Night Lights. Go Dillon Panthers!

Update: Watched the first episode. So glad to have the writers of Friday Night Lights back from the strike and to see that they're restoring the show's integrity. Well done!

Snowstorm in Brooklyn

Stepping out of the potato ration line

(Ecard from Alexis for obtaining my new job.)

To celebrate my new and improved future, Joe and I watched the slowest moving film ever, Silent Light, a visually stunning drama, if it can be called that, about a Mennonite community in Mexico centered around one man's struggle with his faith and destiny. This is definitely a worthwhile watch, if you have the opportunity to see it on the big screen.

A snowstorm is headed to New York. I can't think of a better excuse to hibernate.

*High fiber purchase of the week: Check out Trader Joe's Black Beluga Lentils with 17 grams of fiber, which are an ingredient in this yummy hummus recipe that I plan to try this weekend.

bribery cookies

For job interviews, I recommend baking a couple batches of cookies.


Joe and I made the Oatmeal Toffee Cookies, which are not gorgeous, but delicious.


And inspired by Riva's mom, we baked the super-easy Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies.

Then I suggest stacking the cookies in those slick, clear, plastic boxes, attainable at Surprise!Surprise! for a couple of bucks.

Trust me, employers will eat them up!

January Bookslut Interview

My January Bookslut column is now online. Enjoy!

Challah baking

Joe and I have decided to start baking bread regularly. This weekend, we made Challah.


one


two


three


four


five

Pastrami: straddling the two years

Some things will not change in 2009. At the beginning of the week, in 2008, Riva and I ate hot pastrami sandwiches at Second Avenue Deli. Yesterday, Joe and I shared a hot pastrami at Katz's Deli.

Meat goals for 2009:
-taste liver (not chopped liver, an old favorite)
-eat more chicken

update on Sandra's bagels:
I received a refund for the shipping from UPS, but they refuse to compensate me for the lost, and then ultimately stale bagels. I'm deciding whether it's worth my time and energy to write to the manager and to UPS' corporate office. Maybe this year, I will learn how to let things go.

Happy New Year!