יום שבת, אפריל 24, 2004
Quick update
Passover is now over.
Work is busy.
Over the last 10 days I have been to Berlin, Prague and New York. Stayed at some nice hotels, ate some nice food and even managed to get a day off work as well.
Got a pay rise.
Lots of giggles in life.
Passover is now over.
Work is busy.
Over the last 10 days I have been to Berlin, Prague and New York. Stayed at some nice hotels, ate some nice food and even managed to get a day off work as well.
Got a pay rise.
Lots of giggles in life.
יום שבת, אפריל 10, 2004
What I hate kosher smoke salmon, but still eat it (to avoid guilt)
One of the benefits of being Jewish is growing up on a smoke salmon diet - provided you are given the right sort of smoked salmon.
Let me give you an insight into kosher smoked salmon.
1. It is very cheap. You can buy kosher smoke salmon from as little as 99 pence for 100 grams. Yes, that is right. Where non-supervised smoke salmon can cost £2.99 for 100 grams, for some very strange reason, kosher salmon unlike its non-supervised cousin is sold at a very low price. Compare that with supervised meat and you'll kosher meat is usually double the price of non-kosher meat. So what gives that makes kosher smoked salmon so inexpensive? I suspect one could starting writing some sort of conspiracy theory into this.
2. Kosher smoked salmon is very oily. It is so oily that grease literally pours off it. They call the kosher smoked salmon "London smoke". Why does it have to be so oily?
3. When you buy a packet of smoked salmon, it is only cut into one large strip. When you buy non-kosher smoked salmon it is neatly cut into strips. The result of having one large strip is that you end up cutting it yourself and thus getting even more oil on your hands.
4. During Passover in an attempt to keep to as many traditions as possible, I regrettably have to keep to certain laws. One of which is only eating food that is kosher for the Passover. Hence, during Passover I will eat such poor quality salmon as the thought of eating non-kosher for Passover will mean I am guilt tripped for at least two months. I once, had regular tea during Passover a few years back and when I told my mother she was horrified. "How could you not get kosher for Passover tea?" she blurted out. I don't want to face that again, especially when I tried to explain that the likelihood of some bread-like substance entering the tea production line is remote. And if such by-products were to happen, the factory would be closed down as it wouldn't be up to health and safety standards. Of course, I feel much more confident about the "quality" and "safety" of British kosher products. (Yes, I am being somewhat ironic...)
One of the benefits of being Jewish is growing up on a smoke salmon diet - provided you are given the right sort of smoked salmon.
Let me give you an insight into kosher smoked salmon.
1. It is very cheap. You can buy kosher smoke salmon from as little as 99 pence for 100 grams. Yes, that is right. Where non-supervised smoke salmon can cost £2.99 for 100 grams, for some very strange reason, kosher salmon unlike its non-supervised cousin is sold at a very low price. Compare that with supervised meat and you'll kosher meat is usually double the price of non-kosher meat. So what gives that makes kosher smoked salmon so inexpensive? I suspect one could starting writing some sort of conspiracy theory into this.
2. Kosher smoked salmon is very oily. It is so oily that grease literally pours off it. They call the kosher smoked salmon "London smoke". Why does it have to be so oily?
3. When you buy a packet of smoked salmon, it is only cut into one large strip. When you buy non-kosher smoked salmon it is neatly cut into strips. The result of having one large strip is that you end up cutting it yourself and thus getting even more oil on your hands.
4. During Passover in an attempt to keep to as many traditions as possible, I regrettably have to keep to certain laws. One of which is only eating food that is kosher for the Passover. Hence, during Passover I will eat such poor quality salmon as the thought of eating non-kosher for Passover will mean I am guilt tripped for at least two months. I once, had regular tea during Passover a few years back and when I told my mother she was horrified. "How could you not get kosher for Passover tea?" she blurted out. I don't want to face that again, especially when I tried to explain that the likelihood of some bread-like substance entering the tea production line is remote. And if such by-products were to happen, the factory would be closed down as it wouldn't be up to health and safety standards. Of course, I feel much more confident about the "quality" and "safety" of British kosher products. (Yes, I am being somewhat ironic...)
יום שישי, אפריל 09, 2004
Passover is now here
Yes, Passover is now here. And I've been doing the usual Passover things - like eating food I wouldn't normally touch, but because it is Passover, I've got no choice.
Bought some special Passover instant "chicken soup" with Matzo ball. You pour on the boiling water and the cup becomes ready to eat. Cost £1.29 from Country Market and has got to be one of the worst things to eat. (Mind you a few years back I bought the Pizza made with a matzah base...)
A few people at work gave me some funny looks when I was eating this along with my chicken matzah "sandwiches". Talk about making a mess and having crumbs everywhere.
I have a Dell laptop which I use at work and thanks to the crumbs from the matzah, caused some keyboard problems - well it wasn't actually some but a lot of problems like keys jamming and when I typed a letter it somehow didn't appear on screen. Good thing for our IT department working late on Thursday as they managed to sort it out.
As usual for Passover, spent the first night with my parents and for the second night went to Miss K's parents. Miss K being a Sephardi had all sorts of delights on offer including hummus which us Askenazi folks generally avoid during the Passover. I kept it simple by avoid those products and sticking with what us Askenazi's tend to have - the plain and boring stuff.
Bank holiday weekend means one thing - more work to do before everyone gets back to work. So finishing off some business plans over the weekend.
But there will of course be some downtime - off to the cinema on Saturday night with a few friends. Don't know yet what to see but hopefully a comedy, quite like Shaun of the Dead as an option.
In terms of life being full of giggles, I have had quite a few this week and more importantly, life is good and fun.
Yes, Passover is now here. And I've been doing the usual Passover things - like eating food I wouldn't normally touch, but because it is Passover, I've got no choice.
Bought some special Passover instant "chicken soup" with Matzo ball. You pour on the boiling water and the cup becomes ready to eat. Cost £1.29 from Country Market and has got to be one of the worst things to eat. (Mind you a few years back I bought the Pizza made with a matzah base...)
A few people at work gave me some funny looks when I was eating this along with my chicken matzah "sandwiches". Talk about making a mess and having crumbs everywhere.
I have a Dell laptop which I use at work and thanks to the crumbs from the matzah, caused some keyboard problems - well it wasn't actually some but a lot of problems like keys jamming and when I typed a letter it somehow didn't appear on screen. Good thing for our IT department working late on Thursday as they managed to sort it out.
As usual for Passover, spent the first night with my parents and for the second night went to Miss K's parents. Miss K being a Sephardi had all sorts of delights on offer including hummus which us Askenazi folks generally avoid during the Passover. I kept it simple by avoid those products and sticking with what us Askenazi's tend to have - the plain and boring stuff.
Bank holiday weekend means one thing - more work to do before everyone gets back to work. So finishing off some business plans over the weekend.
But there will of course be some downtime - off to the cinema on Saturday night with a few friends. Don't know yet what to see but hopefully a comedy, quite like Shaun of the Dead as an option.
In terms of life being full of giggles, I have had quite a few this week and more importantly, life is good and fun.
יום שישי, אפריל 02, 2004
They say a week is a long time in politics and of course, a week on the web is even longer
Has it really been a week since my last posting? Yes.
Various people have emailed asking how things are and where are the updates?
The answer: Actually, there are several reasons for the lack of updates this week.
1. This Monday night is the first night of Passover. The festival where us Jewish boys and girls have to refrain from eating bread-like products for a week and instead have to buy over-priced products that are deemed "kosher for passover." What this means in reality is that, every item I eat has been under some sort of special Jewish supervision to avoid any wheat from invading the item. It also means that as Jews we end up paying more for these items of food. We also end up buying products no person in their right mind would ever buy such as a frozen Pizza made out of Matza (aka crackers). And my mother bought one a few days ago from Country Market in Golders Green for £10.
2. Work has been hectic. My firm has decided to ditch the manager, she of the Russian dialect. Turns out she wasn't doing her job properly (of course anyone working with her would have been able to tell you this). The result, one less manager with more clients coming to us. How does this affect be? Actually, it is quite good. Senior partner was impressed with my work on the German deal that I have been working on and has not only given me a pay rise but also has put more work on my plate as he has finally hinted that an opportunity to be a partner may be possible with so more experience. So thanks for the money and the new opportunity that is coming up. Of course, he could be just saying this to get me to work harder.
3. Tiscali broadband really sucks. It sucks so much that it bleeds you dry to the point where for about three days I was without my connection at home. Good news, I have now ditched the Italians and moved over to BT Yahoo. Yes I know it is £29.99 a month, but atleast BT has been pretty good with my home phone so don't expect the same level of cock-ups we got with Tiscali. There again, this is BT I am talking about. The phone company that once send me an itemised bill for phonecalls not made at my flat.
4. Belle De Jour. How many times do I have to say, Belle De Jew and Belle De Jour are not the same. Had an email from a journalist from a national newspaper. Please read this: I do not work directly in the sex industry. Through my firm, I have advised clients who work in th sex biz, but only for accounting and financial purposes. I do not sell sex, but I do make a comfortable living helping businesses who wish to market sex products. But please note, the sex part of our business is just one part of the overall business advice we give. We also advise clients who work in the property industry as well as retail. While Belle De Jour may also happen to live in Finchley, it should be noted that as far as I am aware, Belle De Jour does not share the same address as this Belle.
Has it really been a week since my last posting? Yes.
Various people have emailed asking how things are and where are the updates?
The answer: Actually, there are several reasons for the lack of updates this week.
1. This Monday night is the first night of Passover. The festival where us Jewish boys and girls have to refrain from eating bread-like products for a week and instead have to buy over-priced products that are deemed "kosher for passover." What this means in reality is that, every item I eat has been under some sort of special Jewish supervision to avoid any wheat from invading the item. It also means that as Jews we end up paying more for these items of food. We also end up buying products no person in their right mind would ever buy such as a frozen Pizza made out of Matza (aka crackers). And my mother bought one a few days ago from Country Market in Golders Green for £10.
2. Work has been hectic. My firm has decided to ditch the manager, she of the Russian dialect. Turns out she wasn't doing her job properly (of course anyone working with her would have been able to tell you this). The result, one less manager with more clients coming to us. How does this affect be? Actually, it is quite good. Senior partner was impressed with my work on the German deal that I have been working on and has not only given me a pay rise but also has put more work on my plate as he has finally hinted that an opportunity to be a partner may be possible with so more experience. So thanks for the money and the new opportunity that is coming up. Of course, he could be just saying this to get me to work harder.
3. Tiscali broadband really sucks. It sucks so much that it bleeds you dry to the point where for about three days I was without my connection at home. Good news, I have now ditched the Italians and moved over to BT Yahoo. Yes I know it is £29.99 a month, but atleast BT has been pretty good with my home phone so don't expect the same level of cock-ups we got with Tiscali. There again, this is BT I am talking about. The phone company that once send me an itemised bill for phonecalls not made at my flat.
4. Belle De Jour. How many times do I have to say, Belle De Jew and Belle De Jour are not the same. Had an email from a journalist from a national newspaper. Please read this: I do not work directly in the sex industry. Through my firm, I have advised clients who work in th sex biz, but only for accounting and financial purposes. I do not sell sex, but I do make a comfortable living helping businesses who wish to market sex products. But please note, the sex part of our business is just one part of the overall business advice we give. We also advise clients who work in the property industry as well as retail. While Belle De Jour may also happen to live in Finchley, it should be noted that as far as I am aware, Belle De Jour does not share the same address as this Belle.
