Review of the Jewish History Museum

Last month I went to the Jewish History Museum in Washington D.C. and I took a tour of their Nazi propaganda exhibit. I'm not a big World War II buff, and I don't do much research on the holocaust (I recently read Benjamin's Crossing, and that was about as formal a holocaust education I've had since high school). But I had heard good things about the museum, so we went mid-week, as soon as it opened, and it wasn't packed with screaming high schoolers, at least, not right away.



I was pretty concerned at first, as I was given a booklet with the story of a Jewish person who was effected by the holocaust, and then asked to step into an elevator that looked suspiciously like a train car. It was starting to look like the Jewish Museum was more of a Jew-musement park. I started to sweat a little as I thought about how tacky, and tasteless this could turn out. Thankfully, the amusement park atmosphere ended there.

All that being said, there isn't a whole lot I want to say about the museum itself. Just go see it if you ever get the chance. There are a few things that seem sort of bias, like for the most part, America is painted as the big war hero, with the glaring exception of a display that references a boat of Jewish refugees that tried to dock in Florida, only to be sent back to Europe. When I was there, there was a 9 or 10 year old girl standing in front of me, and she asked her mom, "Why did we send them away?", which I imagine was probably the single most horrifying and complicated thing this parent had ever had to answer to their child thus far. The mom just sort of fumbled for a few seconds before saying, "We didn't know what they were going to do.". I've been thinking about that statement for over a month now.

My Resume

I fail at resume writing. It might be because I don't know why I do the job I do. Or that resumes force me to expose the fact that I'm not qualified to do my job. Or maybe its because none of my career highlights involve working.

So, I created a resume, because I'll by moving in the Fall, and I hope to have a job so I don't starve. And that's just about all my resume says about me. But that's not my fault, those pre-fab websites only give you 35 characters to describe your career goals. I, of course, have to bullshit, because I have no career goals. Except maybe having a career. That's a goal. And aside from that, no one sounds smart in 35 characters or less. "I like job."

I decided when making my resume, I'd use one of those automatic resume builders, where I pretty much just fill in the blanks. But when it asks me to list five things I'm looking for in my new job, I'm stuck. I'm looking for: A paid hour-long lunch, Dental insurance, 8 hour days, and a coffee maker in the break room. That's about it. But no one wants to hear that. People who are hiring want to hear that your excited to work there. That the job means more to you than just a paycheck. That every patient is special, but the truth is, if I didn't need the money, I would not be holding down a 4-year-old, squeezing drops into their eyes while they kick and scream. At least not everyday.

So the work continues on a resume that will make me look smart, but not lofty. Hardworking, but not totally lame. And above all else: Not crazy.

Say Yes to Depressed

I know I've mentioned TLC's show 'Say Yes to the Dress' before, but today was a rainy Saturday afternoon, and I got pulled in again. Four hours of bride-brawling television later and I find myself feeling pretty bummed. As well as fat, poor, and alone. God Bless Television.

In honor of such feelings, its time for another edition of Bachelor(ette) Cooking, or: Cooking for One, Eating enough for Four. Today's dinner dish: Pierogies with bacon and vegetables.

This is a one skillet meal, deh. For starters, you'll want the following:

Frozen Pierorgies
Frozen Vegetables
Bacon
Canned Tomato Sauce

First, heat the skillet and add the bacon, once the bacon is cooked, remove and add pierogies and vegetables. Cut the bacon up into little pieces and put it back into the pan. It'll finish cooking in just a few minutes. Lastly, add a few tablespoons of sauce to the pan, it doesn't take more than a minute for the sauce to heat up. Now, when plating, I suggest using a clean plate. You're eating by yourself, so it doesn't really matter if eat off of dirty dishes or not, but hey, treat yourself right. And, enjoy. You fat, lonely slob.

Obligatory Pictures of my Cat

Everybody's doing it. You're just jealous. Here is a collection of Pictures of my cat in bags and boxes.

Administrative Professional's Day

Last Wednesday was Administrative Professionals Day, or Secretary's Day, whichever. I work as a receptionist twice a week at our office, so I brought in some doughnuts to celebrate the good job my co-workers do. And if you don't believe that... I brought in some doughnuts because I like doughnuts.
On my way in, my Boss says to me, "Doughnuts? Whats the occasion?" and I tell her that today is Administrative Professionals day, and she scoffs: "That's not a real holiday."

Thanks, Boss. In honor of Administrative Professionals Day, my boss under appreciated me.

Dear BHG...

Dear Better Homes and Gardens...

Here is my abbreviated beef with you:

Your food makes my stomach turn. I know that my bachelor recipe for 'mac and cheese and bacon' wasn't exactly beautiful, but your cheeseburger ice cream sandwich should be against the law. And your 'Bestever Casseroles' are desperate. Since when does adding pickled artichokes to tuna make it gourmet? And another thing: goulash is not 'speedy lasagna casserole'. Its just Goulash. And these were your 'Best Ever'?? What on earth were you peddling as regular old daily casseroles?! And your photographer should be cuffed. Even with the super washed-out style that is used in every single image to make it look 'clean' or whatever the desired effect is, the food still looks day old and gross.

And another thing: Your bedroom decor ideas are all nautical themed. What if I have a fear of boats? or drowning? or sharks? I'd never get to sleep in your 'Room with a view' theme, or your 'beach cottage casual' or your 'beach bliss' designs. What if I live Utah? Also, Martha Stewart called, she wants her color scheme back. And so on, and so forth, you get my point.

More like Worst Homes and Gardens. Burn.

A new responsiblity

As I may have mentioned before, after the pregnant girl at work left for maternity leave, I was given all her work. I don't mind really, its not a lot of extra work, but its the work itself that is terrible. Probably the worst, and most morbid, of my hand-me-down jobs is to call people and tell them they have Glaucoma. And to clarify, I don't get to call people and tell them they don't have Glaucoma, another girl gets to do that, I only get to call people when they HAVE glaucoma. I'm like the Grim Reaper of visual acuity. For further clarification the OED describes Glaucoma as the following:

" A disease of the eye, characterized by increased tension of the globe and gradual impairment or loss of vision. "

And its my job to call people and tell them the news. I get a stack every week or so.

I call them at the number they listed for primary source of contact. I recently called a woman while she was working, and she cried. Love my job.