Cry havoc and let slip the war over the dog....

I met Todd and Pete for lunch on Saturday over at Taqueria Veracruzana on Washington Avenue. To me its just like the food you get in any Taco stand in Zihuatenejo (except they have walls- most restaurants I have been to in Mexico are open to the air on at least one or two sides) The food is cheap, fresh and plentiful. You won't find any of those horrible "crunchy" taco shells here- just fresh tortillas. We haven't all hung out together lately because of various Summer vacations and other obligations (them, not me)

When we get to spend some time together our conversations tend to flow back and forth between small details we remember from 25 years ago to what went on last week. We usually end up with a few recurring themes and this time around Pete and I decided to settle on berating Todd about the name he and Laura have tenatively chosen for their new dog which hasn't arrived yet (he has a picture of it on his Blog, I think its a Snickerdoodle or a cockerbull or something)

Any way, he proudly announces that they are going to name the poor thing after a relatively obscure political slogan from 1848 or so- "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" and so the dog would probably be called "Tippy". What? First of all, "Tippy" makes me immediately think of Tippy's Taco house. Tippy's was around the corner from where me and Todd both grew up (its still there on Pine st. - now just called "Taco House") He claims not to remember the place.
Second, What? A political slogan?? "Tippecanoe and Tyler too?"
They have no personal connection to William Henry Harrison or John Tyler. Harrison (Tippecanoe) is most famous for killing lots of Indians and then dying of pneumonia after forgetting his hat at his inaugural. Actually the most interesting thing about him was that he was the Whig candidate. I think "Whig" would be a better name for a dog than "Tippy"
We think that all the other dogs in Lower Merion will beat their dog up if they call it that. They might as well call the dog "Kick Me". I think the best bet is to wait and see what the pup's personality is and then name accordingly. Or they could it name it after something or someplace that means something to them.

As usual we also talked about Todd's wife's cousins and which ones of them we believe actually exist and which are figments of his imagination.
But less on that later. We also bought socks, went bowling, drank wine at Pete's house and then went to N. 3rd for dinner with Petes girlfriend Jen. Very good beer there at N. 3rd - DogFishHead 90 minute IPA on tap! A very good company out of Delaware.

But it was mostly about the poor dog.

One year

Yesterday was one year since I "parted company" with the Philadelphia Orchestra. I guess I still dwell a bit on all the events of our separation - it is very much like a relationship when you lose a job after four years. Todd said a few weeks ago that he was going to smack me whenever I mentioned the Orchestra (a rare physical threat from Todd).

The Soap Opera that is every workplace is magnified there by the strong personalities and high profile of every major decision. Almost everything is breathlessly covered by the Philadelphia Inquirer as if they were as important as the Eagles. I still have a few friends there of course, but they are quickly dwindling as the latest "staff re-organization" plans sweep through. They attract very intelligent people to their staff and then proceed to not treat them with the loyalty and respect they deserve. Being a life-long Philadelphian and now a Classical music fan I do care about what happens with the Orchestra as an institution. I hope the relatively new management there doesn't get too caught up in politics, but that seems unlikely. The latest thing is putting PA state Senator and Philadelphia power broker Vince Fumo on the board of directors. I've been thinking of finding out if I can get one of the "ghost" jobs he'll probably set up on the staff.

I actually started a new job yesterday- exactly one year after leaving the Orchestra staff. It has the possibility of going "Temp to perm" and seems like it might be a good fit. It's another non-profit, a foundation that studies the history and impact of Chemistry on industry and society (I think). It's only been a day, so I'll see how it goes. So far there has been no mention of umbrellas and the bathrooms are very nice.

Sandwich post #1

As promised in my dedication I'll probably be writing about sandwiches as they are my favorite food. My friends always joke that I will only eat sandwiches (or Hoagies, wraps, gyros) -its really pretty close to the truth - and nothing goes better with a good beer - which is another favorite thing.

Sandwiches are a wide and exhaustive subject, but today I'm going to concentrate on a particular classic that is really only just right about this time of year. The key here is the tomatoes that you can get in late summer around Philadelphia. The Jersey tomatoes are one of the only truly great things about having them as our neighbor. I usually don't eat tomatoes in a salad or bother with fresh tomatoes in a homemade sauce- you can do just as well with canned - I promise. But for a brief while you can eat a nice jersey tomato with red onion and good balsamic vinegar and be very content. So after rhapsodizing about a New Jersey tomato, I'm going to admit that I ended up getting a Pennsylvania tomato for my sandwich. Of course it was a "farm raised" Lancaster County Amish tomato from Reading Terminal. I only got one and it cost about $1.50. These tomatoes actually have a taste - they aren't just red and pulpy like what you can buy during the rest of the year. The other ingredients, also from the terminal, a ball of good fresh mozzerella a bunch of basil and a few mini baguettes with just enough crust.

Of course it's incredibly easy to put together after you hunt down the ingredients - just layer every thing onto the roll with some very good olive oil. This is one sandwich that doesn't need to be overstuffed. Don't overdo the basil because it can be overwhelming. The bread, as any sandwich afficianado knows, is very important. It can't be squishy here - this sandwich on a hot dog roll would be blasphemous. When everything comes together you can't believe that you made something so good. But the real truth is that you just went shopping at the right time of year.

Umbrella Corporation

I've been working Temp jobs since May while I still figure out what I want to do when I grow up. I have done this in the past, and in fact my last two permanent jobs started out as Temp. The last couple of weeks I've been working at an umbrella company. Now when I mentioned this to a friend the other day she thought I meant "Umbrella Corporation" as in ..."We are a multinational concern that manages financial planning and document processing services companies for the banking industry.."
No, here I'm talking about those things people always leave behind on the subway, that you can find for sale for a few bucks on the street. I won't tell you the exact name of the company, but if you mispronounced it just a little it would sound something like "Shabby Umbrellas"

It's basically a big warehouse in a not so good area in Philadelphia with a one room office and a bathroom that is at about gas station level of cleanlieness. I've never worked in a supply chain / manufacturing type business before and its kind of strange. I'm still doing clerical and accounting work - its very basic stuff - but I'm seeing how one little business works. The first thing I noticed is how many hands these umbrellas have to go through before they get to the consumer. The niche that "Shabby" has carved out is in imprinted umbrellas - yes, like the ones for your favorite PBS / NPR station, highschool or cable channel. So first of all most of the umbrellas are imported from China (on the slow boat, apparently). I would think there are a few freight companies involved here in getting the product into the warehouse. Then if someone wants imprinted umbrellas they might talk to an ad agency or one of the numerous companies that sell imprinted crap to businesses. That company calls "Shabby" to make arrangements for the style, color and logo wanted. Then the umbrellas are shipped over to local printing company to actually do the work and shipped back. After being checked and repackaged they are shipped out again- maybe to the ultimate point of sale, or maybe to another midddle man. So basically "Shabby" exists to hold the umbrellas and move them through the printing process. The bottom line is - I think I'd like to be in the shipping business.

It's also the first time I've worked somewhere where there are no women - no old payroll ladies, no young secretaries, no bosses wife. As far as I'm concerned that makes it a boring place. Despite the fact that I'm learning a ton about umbrellas. You got your folding umbrellas (at least three) different sizes, then your stick umbrellas which come in metal, wood and fiberglass and then you got your vented and your folding vented in all kinds of colors. They know their umbrellas and they know what is in sotck in the warehouse. The guy sitting next to me will get a call about a certain umbrella and just call over to the boss across the room

"Hey Charley, we got two hundred and fifty MA-6T's in Royal Blue and Purple?"

"No problem - and tell 'em we got those WS-100's they were lookin for the other day too..."

So at least I've been keeping busy and learning how another corner of the world works. When you think about it almost every house has at least one umbrella and they are cheap enough that people don't care too much when they lose one and will just go and buy another one when they break. I've even bought a few nice ones when I was working there. I got them wholesale, I think.

Drama in Gaza

Being an American Jew (at least culturally and by birth- if not religiously) I am used to people assuming that I have something to do with Israel and I should answer for what ever they do. I've never been there, (I hear its nice) and I certainly don't always agree with their policies. I am glad that the US supports them most of the time, although it has caused us quite a bit of grief. They are a "stable" democracy type thing in a part of the world that probably could use more.

Even though I'm not a rabid Zionist, the pictures this week of settlers being removed from the Gaza strip have been very difficult to watch. Thankfully there haven't been many reported deaths (with some exceptions). I know I can sympathize with these settlers a little bit more because I am a Jew. I care a bit more about the Israeli Army having to raid a Synagogue than I would about our troops raiding a Mosque somewhere (take your pick). I wish Israel did not have to give up this land they fought wars over in the past. I wish they could keep all their land and get a bit more. It would be kind of like us having to give back Texas to Mexico (maybe not a bad idea). When ever I want to end an argument about Israel and the Palestinian problem- all I do is get into my fake indignant mode and say "But God gave that land to us...."

Dedication

I've got to dedicate my first post to my life-long (so far) friend- Todd. He constantly tells me to read his blog if I want more details on a trip he took or what happened over the weekend (Check out his blogs at www.alcibiades.blogspot.com) He kept telling me that I should try one too, and since I am under-employed and I like to write, why not.

In many ways I am the Anti-Todd. He is employed, married, responsible, well travelled and motivated. Of course we've been friends all of our thirty-six or so years, so we have to have something in common (beer?).
My style is a bit different than his, so it may not be very long before I am saying a little too much here. I'm sure I'll be writing about food, movies, TV, music, stuff that annoys me and maybe about my career - if I ever get one.