Cranky Monday

[debka_notion]

Today was just a cranky sort of day in the kitchen- I think the heat got to everyone. I got snapped at before 8am, and snapped back, which I usually try not to do. And just over the course of the day, things kept falling back to that place of crankiness and tiredness. The combination of a Monday and a lot of heat wasn't so good for us. But we got through, and there were moments of fun inside it all.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better, but I'm not sure- it's macaroni and cheese day, and then we'll be prepping for grilled cheese in the afternoon. Macaroni and cheese is a pain in the neck, because it's Heavy, the kids love it, and it involves making tons of pasta- usually we do at least 120 pounds, which means getting the guys (these pots are heavier than I can lift- even stirring them as the pasta gets close to ready hurts, although I end up doing that anyways) to dump out at least 3 or 4 pots of pasta, each with 40 pounds of pasta, plus water, plus the weight of the pot. It's hot, and miserable. Grilled cheese is just monotonous- if we're in a bad mood, it's terrible, if we're in a good mood and having good conversation, it's fine, except when the cheese sticks together. (I've found what I must have liked about my grandmother's grilled cheese, and why I never liked it later in life- grilled cheese with white bread and American "cheese" is oddly tasty, grilled cheese on whole wheat bread with cheddar cheese is just too strong and the texture is off- it needs tons of veggies to give it the right taste- basically to be more than a cheese sandwich.)

I've been informed that I Am going to Israeli Dance tonight. I would have anyways- but it's amusing that I went once and am now basically being told that I'm going. This time, I'll go with computer, and hopefully that can facilitate better dances than we might do otherwise, although I'm not That hopeful.

Also today, I got a phone call from Rabbi Roth (I'd been napping- it's very odd to get a call from someone of that sort- i.e. an authority figure/teacher/respected scholar when one is half-awake) asking if I'd gotten an email about scheduling for the still mysterious "special studies track". There was supposed to be some sort of test to get in- I guess they decided against, or that they'd schedule said test in the fall, or who knows what. From the list of people they sent it to, I was the only one going into first year who's doing it, right now, but maybe there was more than one email sent. It should be interesting- I hope that I'm up for the challenge of whatever it turns out to be.

Comments

[hotshot2000.livejournal.com]

I've been hearing mixed things about what the special track is all about (and just today heard a rumor that there were 2 special tracks?!). Seems to me if it's about hard-core skill-building involving lots of dedicated beit midrash and a daily shiur, that'd be a good thing. OTOH, if it's just about bringing in top-notch scholars (and I've heard some medium-to-high-power names being floated), then that's less good, since (a) scholars tend not to be interested in or able to teach text skills; (b) to get the most of scholars, you need pretty high skills already; and (c) scholars tend to be methodologically-focused (some even methodolotrous), and it's not clear, if one is not a student of a scholar in a particular field, how helpful a specialized methodology in reading a limited range of texts actually would be, long-term. (Obviously, exposure is a Good thing, but not at the expense of other, more relevent uses of one's time.) My feeling is if it's the former (i.e., intense skill-building beit midrash) you should go for it; if the latter, you should be very cautious.

[margavriel.livejournal.com]

Hmm

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

We'll see- they still aren't telling us (or at least me) much. The idea that everyone presumed was that it would be more focused/intense than the regular coursework. We'll see... I can always switch out of it, I presume- so it's worth checking out at least.

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

Strange -- I can't stand grilled cheese with white bread and American cheese, but find it delicious with whole wheat (or, better, rye or multi-grain) bread and extra sharp cheddar, and preferably grilled in olive oil, though butter is still good.

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

If we all loved the same things, think of what an oatmeal shortage there would be. (I've also heard the comment with haggis instead of oatmeal, which is just funnier.)

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

Well, or people would just grow more oats. :-) (Or sheep, as the case may be.)

[masteraleph.livejournal.com]

Not so strange. I absolutely love paninis, but somehow grilled cheese turns my stomach.