Drive All Night

So I was driving home last night from rehearsal and realized that, wwwhhhhoooaaaaa, I have NO gas. I worried about that and then for some reason, I thought about a book that I read when I was younger called "Al(exandra) the Great". The reason I thought about this was because the narrator (she NEVER had a name and that annoyed me a little) was talking to her little brother about how his friend put sugar in a gas tank to make the owner think he had gas but really didn't. That worried me even more but luckily, I just really didn't have gas, no sugar involved. And can you believe that I CANNOT FIND any info on this book? It certainly doesn't help that most of the things that pop up are about AlexandER the Great. Anyway...

So I turned my ipod onto shuffle to be distracted. First I listened to this.

Then this song came on. Hello 1998.

And then I made it to the gas station. It was a wild night, folks. Don't you wish you just drove around with me all the time?

Made the Big Times!

Last week, the Coyote came out with the Oscar issue- except instead of looking at movies, they vote on Best Professor, Best Class, Best Dressed, Best Administrator, Staff Member, Custodian, etc. The history department, no surprise, swept the field. They won pretty much everything, so congratulations to them. One of the awards is Biggest Party Animal and again, it's no surprise that the Biggest Male Party animal is a former student of mine...

Which brings me to the fact that I have clearly made a difference in student's lives. I've hit the big times. Here is a direct quote from my student who was asked the question: What professor would you pick as a bayroot (beer pong) parter?

"It would be a tough choice between Professor Angie Ivie and Professor Michal Yadlin. Thought I'm not sure, I'm willing to be Professor Yadlin probably played in the tournament when she went to school here, so I think she would be the most experienced professor on campus. Most experienced and I think she would be a really fun partner whether we lost or not. We would put up quite the fight. YADLIN RULES!!!!!!"

This does bring me to a favorite story of the summer, yet told on this blog. I had just come back from Nottingham and met Roni in City Centre to go to Tommy's house for a party. Just as we arrived, a beer pong game had finished and so we were recruited to be partners to play the next game. We were playing against a drunk, anti-American Royal Marine who had about three insults/put-downs that he used over and over and over again. He was the epitome of obnoxious/someone who things he's God's gift to the world. Just FYI: he is not. I'm a pretty terrible player but found that if I aimed with my left hand, I was a far better player. We finally got down to one cup each and then, for nearly eternity, we kept missing. Everyone around the table watching us just wanted the game to end, including us. This guy kept using his same three insults and we were pretty much the favorite underdogs. Finally, finally, finally, I sunk the winning shot (with my left hand!). No joke, there was pandemonium... everyone erupted in cheers and applause, we were hugged and high-fived, it was pretty incredible.

The moral of the story is:

1. at least one student wants to play bayroot with me

2. bayroot is a stupid game

3. I'm a far better bayroot player with my left instead of right hand.

The end.

Whhhhhaaaa?????

Did you know that this was a Real thing?

The Real Housewives of Israel?

From left to right: Lea, Imbar, Nicol, Dafna, Tali, and Eti

Nicol is 24 and a successful advertising agent and producer of "huge events" (by whose standards?)

Tali is the ex-wife of Eric Sinai and recently married 87-year-old billioniare Meshulam Riklis. And and she's a "dancer" from Tel Aviv.

Lea is the "pilates queen" of Herzaliya. I didn't know that was a legitimate title. She's also philanthropic and curates a private art collection.

Eti is pursuing her career as an artist and businesswoman in Savyon after divorcing her husband three years ago. She's "living the life of her dreams!" Zip-a-dee-doo-dah.

Dafna is a desirable and beautiful divorcee, former beauty queen, single mother of two and a lawyer by education. How is she a housewife?

Inbar is also a lawyer! That's all.

Wow.... I have no words, so I'll just let Etty explain...

Essentially translated as: I live such a great life and I want to give back so let me go bring this cake to the protestors in their tents. And now let's talk with them about how to change the world and also something about the prices of tomatoes. I'll also make a sign to show that I'm connecting with the "people".

Also, WHY is there an interview with Vicky Gunvalson on Israeli TV? WHY!!!!???

Women wear scarves? Dress conservatively? Not in Tel Aviv. And what is wrong with her eyes!? Ay yi yi...

But, this is hilarious.

Aquarius!

Highlights from this year's Aquarius Party.

-deliciously large nachos at Matador

- DRUNK as all get-out waitress at Piper Pub

-Trying to get Yosh and Jake (or "Josh") to sing "No Scrubs" at Shige's

-going on a walk with Becky

-taking over half of Pengillys

-debating about political and economic issues with a slightly drunk Yosh

-catching up with Abbey, Suzi and a few other people I hadn't seen in a long time

-"What are their jobs?"

"Um, barista at the Flying M, writers for the Boise Weekly, office worker, and waiter at Chili's."

"What about the blonde?"

"With the braids? Yeah, she's just Heidi."

-yummy cupcakes courtesy of Tiff

-Katie's mantra of the night "I hate Red Feather"

-"Oh I'm sorry, what did you want? I forgot to write it down."

"Coors Lite and a house Chardonnay..."

"Yeah, OK, got it....."

Ten minutes later.

"This is yours, right?"

-the Capitol building at night time, all lit up

-accidental zoomed in pictures

kate and becky at matador

katie, me and gina

tracylea and ed

frances, antonio, jake and katie

capitol buildling

abbey and me

gina, yosh and sam, after he took the camera

3/4 of the secret friendship circle, just missing mb

shots, shots, shots

me and tracylea after we dealt with the zoom fiasco

said zoom fiasco...

katie, antonio, and frances at pengilly's

me

me and kate at mulligans

one side of the table at matadors

the other side of the table

yosh feelin' fine....

Between the Wars

Thanks to Bryan for getting me to listen to this song (sorry it took so long). This just exactly what I'm studying.

I was a miner
I was a docker
I was a railway man
Between the wars
I raised a family
In times of austerity
With sweat at the foundry
Between the wars

I paid the union and as times got harder
I looked to the government to help the working man
And they brought prosperity down at the armoury
"We're arming for peace me boys"
Between the wars

I kept the faith and I kept voting
Not for the iron fist but for the helping hand
For theirs is a land with a wall around it
And mine is a faith in my fellow man
Theirs is a land of hope and glory
Mine is the green field and the factory floor
Theirs are the skies all dark with bombers
And mine is the peace we knew
Between the wars

Call up the craftsmen
Bring me the draughtsmen
Build me a path from cradle to grave
And I'll give my consent
To any government
That does not deny a man a living wage

Go find the young men never to fight again
Bring up the banners from the days gone by
Sweet moderation
Heart of this nation
Desert us not, we are
Between the wars

A Letter to Myself

Dear Michal,

Listen, I know that you love England. Everybody knows that you love England. And let's face it, England loves you. England has been very good to you. So has Scotland, Ireland and Wales. But not Waterford. That place hates you. Never go back.

That being said, it may be time for a change. I've complied a photo montage of places that you COULD be going to, if you ever decided to turn in your SNA to LGW/LHR card and maybe go else where.

You could, for example, enjoy the incredible musical heritage that one finds in both Salzburg and Vienna. You could sing "Sound of Music" and think of Mozart and Beethoven and all the other incredible composers that you love that have come through these two fair cities.

Or, you could finally venture south of the equator and hang out with Jesus up there on the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio. Plus, I hear they have some pretty incredible beaches there, as well as there's always a chance you could coordinate trips with Hadasi and Alexandre.... Just think about it.

You also know a lot of South Africans. Someone must have some family that you could stay with while you enjoyed Jo'burg and Cape Town and especially Table Mountain. And you'd be going at a time when there are no vuvuzelas. Thank heavens.

In keeping with the trend of going to the Southern Hempishere, you could go to an English-speaking place if you're worried about language, and see some incredible sights, like Alice Springs and Ayer's Rock in Australia or Mt. Cook in New Zealand. You could think about Bill Bryson and hobbits and see some vividly brilliant colors.

I suppose that if you decide you want to stay near the familiar, Barcelona is a good choice. The Gaudi Museum has some incredible architecture and if there's a chance that you could run into David Villa or Patches, well, that's never a bad thing...

Your next stop could be Berlin, which would, in fact, fit quite nicely with your thesis theme of -isms during the 20th century and the interwar period. And of all places, Berlin would be one of the most fascinating and historically relevant, especially with all the turmoil Germany went through during the 20th century

It's been awhile since you've looked at Ancient Civilizations and you know how much you enjoy the Greeks and the Romans. Remember that amazing timeline you made? Your next trip could easily take you to see the REAL Parthenon (not the Nashville one) or the Coliseum in Rome. Lots to contemplate about democracy, government and gladiators in both places.

Finally, you could always go to a place where you've wanted to go to ages and ages- the Haiga Sophia in Constantinople. This has been a dream for longer than England even (what!?), it's really about time that you went to see this.... right? Right?

So, in summation, England is awesome but there is so much more out there to see.

Love always,

Me

For Andrea...