The other week when I was working at my resthome job, there was a shiva for an elderly couple's son who died, and one of the (elderly) (good-humored) (female) (Jewish) residents mentioned that there might be a minyan, too.
"What's a minyan?", I was like.
"One of those little yellow guys with glasses who goes blibb-blibb-blibb-blibb-blibb-blibb-blibb-blibb-blibb-blibb-blibb-blibb-blibb!", she laughed.
Then, she was like, "It's a prayer service."
Saturday, June 2, 2018
Friday, June 1, 2018
Tales of (Tibetan) coworkers.
At my one resthome job, I have a lot of (Tibetan) coworkers, including...:
1) A(n older) (Tibetan) woman who was a refugee in India at a young age, and grew up there before moving to the United States. She doesn't have a high school diploma and is ready to retire, and when she comes on shift she's always drinking this barley tea thing that they make in Tibet, which is tea and barley flour and some butter and salt, and she says you can have it when you get up in the morning instead of a meal.
She also said it's tough to find good barley flour and she used to have to order it from New York, but some (older) (Tibetan) folks in the area have started to make it, since you have to dryroast the barley and then grind it, and you need this special grinder that costs $300, which some of them have boughten.
Back in India, she said, you used to roast the barley in warm ashes, and then shift the coals and ashes out.
Sometimes for family celebrations, she makes curries and Tandoori chicken like she used to make back in India.
2) A (middle-aged) (Tibetan) woman with a soft voice who told me that most Tibetans get both their first and last names from monks, since they really don't have family names there, apart from a few old rich and powerful families.
When I asked her if anyone could ever meet a brother and sister or something and not know they were related because they had different names, she said not really, since it's small communities and everyone knows each other.
3) A (young) (Tibetan) guy who said his name means "something good, like love and peace," and who says he loves being Tibetan.
He's not really married, but he and his girlfriend were together forever, and so they decided to put rings on each other and they now say they're married.
He also sometimes goes to the casinos, and likes the buffet.
Me and him also talked with another one of our coworkers about Mongolian hotpot places in Chinatown where you get boiling broth put on a stove-table in front of you, and then you order meats and vegetables to put in the broth and boil however you want.
"It's like a buffet," he told our coworker.
1) A(n older) (Tibetan) woman who was a refugee in India at a young age, and grew up there before moving to the United States. She doesn't have a high school diploma and is ready to retire, and when she comes on shift she's always drinking this barley tea thing that they make in Tibet, which is tea and barley flour and some butter and salt, and she says you can have it when you get up in the morning instead of a meal.
She also said it's tough to find good barley flour and she used to have to order it from New York, but some (older) (Tibetan) folks in the area have started to make it, since you have to dryroast the barley and then grind it, and you need this special grinder that costs $300, which some of them have boughten.
Back in India, she said, you used to roast the barley in warm ashes, and then shift the coals and ashes out.
Sometimes for family celebrations, she makes curries and Tandoori chicken like she used to make back in India.
2) A (middle-aged) (Tibetan) woman with a soft voice who told me that most Tibetans get both their first and last names from monks, since they really don't have family names there, apart from a few old rich and powerful families.
When I asked her if anyone could ever meet a brother and sister or something and not know they were related because they had different names, she said not really, since it's small communities and everyone knows each other.
3) A (young) (Tibetan) guy who said his name means "something good, like love and peace," and who says he loves being Tibetan.
He's not really married, but he and his girlfriend were together forever, and so they decided to put rings on each other and they now say they're married.
He also sometimes goes to the casinos, and likes the buffet.
Me and him also talked with another one of our coworkers about Mongolian hotpot places in Chinatown where you get boiling broth put on a stove-table in front of you, and then you order meats and vegetables to put in the broth and boil however you want.
"It's like a buffet," he told our coworker.
Thursday, May 31, 2018
An extended and intimate conversation on the subway.
The other week when I was going in to work for one of my jobs, I sat down in the corner of the subway car, and it was a packed trip, and eventually a (young) (black) guy with an odd facial hairstyle beard thing and lots of earrings in each ear came on and crammed down into the open seat next to me.
And then, a few minutes later he asks this (Latina or maybe Indian?) woman across the aisle, about a book she's reading, that has a title about some spiritual law.
And, she opens up and starts talking about it and the energy you put out and how you live your life, etc., and the guy listens really intently and nods and nods and nods, and then he shows her his book he was reading, which is by some guru, and he says that it's not everyone who's into "transcendental" books.
(Maybe he meant "metaphysical"?)
Later, a(n older) (white) man came on, and he started talking with the (young) (black) guy, and from what they were saying it seemed like the (white) guy used to be a professor of his, and that the (young) (black) guy was a theater student.
Lately, I've been relishing stuff like this, this is exactly why you live in a city.
"All kinds of people, all of G-d's children."
And then, a few minutes later he asks this (Latina or maybe Indian?) woman across the aisle, about a book she's reading, that has a title about some spiritual law.
And, she opens up and starts talking about it and the energy you put out and how you live your life, etc., and the guy listens really intently and nods and nods and nods, and then he shows her his book he was reading, which is by some guru, and he says that it's not everyone who's into "transcendental" books.
(Maybe he meant "metaphysical"?)
Later, a(n older) (white) man came on, and he started talking with the (young) (black) guy, and from what they were saying it seemed like the (white) guy used to be a professor of his, and that the (young) (black) guy was a theater student.
Lately, I've been relishing stuff like this, this is exactly why you live in a city.
"All kinds of people, all of G-d's children."
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
A subway encounter with people I know.
The other week after work, I didn't get on at my normal subway stop to go home, but instead walked down to the next one south, so I could go get some money from an ATM at a bank branch a few blocks south of where I usually get on the subway.
So, I did that, then I went into the subway stop, and I started walking to the north end of the platform so I could get on the northmost car whenever it came like I usually do, and as I was doing that, the subway train coming from the other direction came rumbling up and slowly came to a halt and its doors opened...
...and as it did that, I noticed standing in the doorway of the car a(n Asian-American) guy I recognized from somewhere, and we smiled and did that headnod thing like is almost waving, and then I noticed that the two other people he was standing with were the ticket takers from the one movie theater I used to go to a lot more often, and then I realized that I knew the (Asian-American) guy because he was a patron there a lot too, and so I stopped and stood there and chit-chatted a few words before their car took off again, to the next stop.
They must have all left the show downtown together, I realized after they left.
It was nice to bump into them, and I wished we could have talked more.
A few times, we talked forever after a really interesting movie ended, just standing around by the entrance to the hall where the theaters are and just talking a lot about the movie and whatnot.
So, I did that, then I went into the subway stop, and I started walking to the north end of the platform so I could get on the northmost car whenever it came like I usually do, and as I was doing that, the subway train coming from the other direction came rumbling up and slowly came to a halt and its doors opened...
...and as it did that, I noticed standing in the doorway of the car a(n Asian-American) guy I recognized from somewhere, and we smiled and did that headnod thing like is almost waving, and then I noticed that the two other people he was standing with were the ticket takers from the one movie theater I used to go to a lot more often, and then I realized that I knew the (Asian-American) guy because he was a patron there a lot too, and so I stopped and stood there and chit-chatted a few words before their car took off again, to the next stop.
They must have all left the show downtown together, I realized after they left.
It was nice to bump into them, and I wished we could have talked more.
A few times, we talked forever after a really interesting movie ended, just standing around by the entrance to the hall where the theaters are and just talking a lot about the movie and whatnot.
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Job challenge.
With my one resthome job, some people are on vacation, and another got fired, so I turn around and they ask me to work extra days, where for like 2 weeks straight I'd have just one day off a week.
I mean, I will once in a while, maybe once every 3-4 weeks at most, but more than that is a little much.
It's not like you even get overtime. Instead, same old minimum wage.
For that, I'd prefer the time off.
It really is funny that the higher up in the jobscale you go, the more you can get away with, but the lower down you are, the shittier it can be.
It's like people are like, "This job's shitty and they don't mind shit, so let's just make it shittier."
That said, I do think that this is a temporary hiring blip due to the new head of my department, and things will smooth out to a normal schedule soon.
I mean, I will once in a while, maybe once every 3-4 weeks at most, but more than that is a little much.
It's not like you even get overtime. Instead, same old minimum wage.
For that, I'd prefer the time off.
It really is funny that the higher up in the jobscale you go, the more you can get away with, but the lower down you are, the shittier it can be.
It's like people are like, "This job's shitty and they don't mind shit, so let's just make it shittier."
That said, I do think that this is a temporary hiring blip due to the new head of my department, and things will smooth out to a normal schedule soon.
Monday, May 28, 2018
A (husky-ish) (young) (Latino) on the subway:
He stands up in the little corner nook that has a ledge and a window looking out down through the car, and he sets up a sandwich and eats that and kettle chips, frequently with his mouth open.
When he finishes, he slumps back against the wall behind him, and (loud) music blasts out through his ear buds.
When he leaves, I notice something off with the corner of his eyes, like he's developmentally disabled or his mom drank too much when he was a baby or both.
When he finishes, he slumps back against the wall behind him, and (loud) music blasts out through his ear buds.
When he leaves, I notice something off with the corner of his eyes, like he's developmentally disabled or his mom drank too much when he was a baby or both.
Sunday, May 27, 2018
You know what would be huge in Masters and Doctoral education?
An inspector general!
Programs would have to keep files on a rotating basis on advisees, response time of professors to advisees, etc., where they'd go back 2 years and gather info for a few randomly drawn profs.
Then, an inspector general would review these files against original documentation, and maybe open up larger inquiries where there appeared to be uncorrected malfeasance.
That kind of thing would really make tenured professors "toe the line," especially if it was combo'ed with fines against individuals, department chairs, DGSes, and departments, since there'd be a price to pay for bad behavior and poor project management.
It also makes sense from the public funding side, to make sure that our money spent on education and research is well-spent.
These types of accountability issues have surfaced in local governance for over a century, and it's sort of surprising that productive reform approaches haven't been introduced into universities, especially since everyone knows that tenured professors often don't do work or do it poorly, with no consequences!
Programs would have to keep files on a rotating basis on advisees, response time of professors to advisees, etc., where they'd go back 2 years and gather info for a few randomly drawn profs.
Then, an inspector general would review these files against original documentation, and maybe open up larger inquiries where there appeared to be uncorrected malfeasance.
That kind of thing would really make tenured professors "toe the line," especially if it was combo'ed with fines against individuals, department chairs, DGSes, and departments, since there'd be a price to pay for bad behavior and poor project management.
It also makes sense from the public funding side, to make sure that our money spent on education and research is well-spent.
These types of accountability issues have surfaced in local governance for over a century, and it's sort of surprising that productive reform approaches haven't been introduced into universities, especially since everyone knows that tenured professors often don't do work or do it poorly, with no consequences!
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