The Career Fair

Yesterday morning, I went to the Columbus Dispatch Cultural Diversity Career Fair.

I'll tell you why almost none of those words are correct, but first I'll tell you how I ended up there.

Last week Mom got me to agree to go to a job fair with her. When the time came, she backed out and coerced me to go on my own. I thought the job fair would be crap, but I decided to go anyway. I'm not doing anything else, right?

The fair showcased 16-20 booths. Two were for schools and 3 were for temp agencies. Three were for the Dispatch and 1 was for a recruiting firm which wasn't recruiting. The remainder were for companies hiring seasonal workers.

The real problem, though, was that no one at any of the booths was really hiring. They each had a sign listing available jobs and encouraged all of us to apply online. They told us it was the fastest way to submit our resumes.

Hmmm, I thought. Then why exactly did I need to come here? Each company can be found online easily.

Also, there was no real cultural diversity nor were there any companies which focused on minorities.

So no cultural, no diversity, no career and no fair.

Now, I know you think I'm being negative, but, if you'd been there, you'd feel the same.

Dance Dance Revolution

I couldn't notpost this.

Job Contest

This cracked me up and is tangentially related to the post

I need a job.

I am starting a blog contest.

The person who sends me the lead that gets me a job gets $50 from my first pay check.

You want $50, right?

Here's all you have to do:

1. Post the job with a link to the comments
2. OR use the "Call Me" button in the sidebar and leave a message
   
3. If you win, I'll need some way to get in touch with you

Here are the limitations:

1. It has to be in Columbus, OH
2. The lead has to be serious and specific - "Hey, I hear Giant Eagle is hiring" won't win $50
3. Non-Profit and educational jobs are my preference, but feel free to be creative!
   
4. If I know you, I'll give you cash. If I don't, you'll need a paypal account

That's all. Bring it on.

Oh, and you can see my resume here if that'll help.

Kurdish Lesson 09 - Food

Kurdish food can vary by region and even by family, so what I present below is a snapshot of the foods I enjoyed first in San Diego and later in Iraq. The families with whom we lived in California were from the Sulemania and Halabja areas which is also where I lived in Iraq. I don’t know much about Hewleri or Dohuki food let alone Kurdish food in Turkey or Iran.

Kurdish food is a blend of regional dishes with local ingredients. The dishes are often similar to what one might find in a Turkish, Lebanese or even Indian restaurant, but in Kurdistan, the dishes have their own unique flavors.

I, for one, have never had falafel better than the falafel I had in Sulemania. The same goes for Briyani.

Below, I will spell the names of the dishes and foods with latini. Remember to click here for a refresher on pronunciation.

Breakfast: A typical Kurdish breakfast is fairly light.

Kurdish	English
Mast	Yoghurt
Hangwîn	Honey
Nan	Bread
Moz	Bananas
Ḧelke Ron	Fried Egg
Ça	Tea
Penîr	Cheese

An everyday breakfast would just be nan u mast, but the others mix in as well. Of course, no breakfast is complete without Ça.

My favorite breakfast was to mix my mast with date syrup. It was great, but I have no idea what the Kurdish word for date syrup is. Sorry.

Lunch and Dinner: Lunch and dinner foods are usually the same. We often ate lunch at the office where we had a cook. She made some really great things! (Although, some of my co-workers complained about the excessive amounts of oil!)

Kurdish	English
Birinc	Rice
Zalate	Salad
Fasulîe	Beans
Kube	Ground meat wrapped in rice
Brîanî	Spiced rice with anything and everything in it
Kufte	Ground meat wrapped in wheat served in a tomato soup
Tepsî	Eggplant, zucchini, onions and potato fried with spices
Yapraẍ/ Dolme	Ground meat wrapped in grape leaves or stuffed in various vegetables
Şile	Tomato-based stew with one of many vegetables
Şufte	Little spiced-meat patties (My personal favorite!)

Miscellaneous Food Names: There are many other words you’ll need to cook and eat in Kurdistan. I have tried to include those below. I have also included separate tables for fruits and vegetables.

Kurdish	English
Goşt	Meat
Qȋme	Ground meat
Mirişik	Chicken
Qal	Turkey
Masȋ	Fish
Samun	Bread loaves or buns
Ron	Oil
Şekir	Sugar
Ard	Flour
Mast Aw	Yogurt and water drink
Do	Like Mast Aw, but when made traditionally, it’s semi-fermented in an animal stomach
Gȋpe	Meat cooked in a cow's stomach
Sȇr u Pȇ	Head and feet. Sheep’s brains and feet
Kabab	Meat patty on a skewer
Tike	Meat chunks on a skewer
Gwȇs	Nuts
Xwȇ	Salt

Fruits and Vegetables: The secret to Kurdish culture is this: when you are invited to dinner or visit someone, they will eventually serve you fruit. The fruit is your sign that it’s time to go.

Kurdish	English
Sȇw	Apple
Pirtikal	Orange
Hunir	Pomegranate
Tirȇ	Grape
Moz	Banana
Kişmiş	Raisin
Qeȋsȋ	Apricot

I don’t like vegetables all that much, so my vocabulary is slim. Sorry.

Kurdish	English
Pȋaz	Onion
Tomate	Tomato
Potate	Potato
Baȋinjan	Eggplant
Zȇtun	Olives
Bamȇ	Okra

This certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a good start.

If you have recipes for any of these foods, please post them in the comments. I can only make rice and şile.

A view of our neighborhood store. The lady on the right makes the world's best Kube and Şufte.

A small store like this is called a dukan.

From the Middle of the World

"being called to a particular thing in life means that we can't truly be satisfied doing anything else. yes we can function in other capacities, but our hearts always carry the longing to be doing what we truly love. i think it's like that with places too. while i DO love America and am grateful that i was born and raised here, there are places i always carry in my heart that are outside this country. places of wonder, places of dirt and need and desperation, and people that i'm truly in love with. and as i continue to delight myself in the Lord, He truly does give me the desires of my heart in allowing me to walk on the soil i love and giving me priceless relationships there."

Amen, sister.

*edited 11/04/09 to remove link to original post. I am not sure this blog is for public eyes. The author will remain anonymous, but if you recognize your words, you can claim them.

Unemployable?

Two weeks ago, I had an interview. That job was one that I really wanted and I thought the interview went well.

Last week, the hiring manager was out of the office and he told me to call if I hadn't heard anything by the 9th.

So, I called.

He said "That position has been filled...umm...I was just getting ready to call you."

Ugh!

First of all, if you work in HR, just call people. It's easy not to be a jerk.

Secondly, why can't I get hired? This isn't a pity question. I'm serious.

My resume is good, my experience is good, I interview well. It just doesn't make sense to me. I'd hire myself.

I've been considering taking things off of my resume. I've applied to some jobs without my graduate degree and internships. I think those things plus the work in Iraq, hurt me at this last interview.

At the end of it, he said, "Well, after all of the excitement in Iraq and London, this job would probably be pretty boring."

I don't really have a point here, I just wanted to rant a little.

Great Quote

"This is America, not hillbilly flash dance."

-Tim Gunn, on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

10/09/08 - Edited because I found video:

Debate #2: 10:22

Obama says in relation to foreign policy:

"We have to be proactive. We've been reactive for the past 8 years."

That's not a direct quote, but it's close enough. Look it up.

Except in Iraq, of course. Where Bush took the proactive step rather than waiting for Saddam to act. That, of course, was a mistake according to Obama; Iraq posed no direct threat to us.

Am I wrong in thinking this doesn't reconcile? Have I missed something?

Not to mention his comments on Georgia! What he says is misleading. He did not take a hard stand against Russia and gives us no reason to believe he would.

I am trying to be open to Obama, but I do not trust him on foreign policy. I do not like the positions that he holds and I do not believe his policies are workable.

In addition he speaks of energy independence taking petro dollars from the Russians. The problem being that it isn't US consumption driving the Russian oil industry; it's Europe. It's petro Euros. The US got about 1% of our crude oil from Russia in 2007. Energy independence is not the answer to everything.

And the thing that makes me the most skeptical? The talk of intervening in Darfur to end genocide and, in the same breath, denouncing the invasion of Iraq. A country and a regime with a proven history of genocide.

So, what's a voter like me to do? I'm disappointed by McCain's economic policies, but I like Obama's foreign policy even less.

The third party candidates have insane platforms, but I could vote for one of them as a protest vote. A successful third-party candidate could force change in the big two parties.

BUT none of the current third party candidates have the strength of numbers to push such a change.

You don't have to read this. I'm just rambling through my thoughts.

Biden Mistake

13Months is officially neutral in the upcoming elections, having withdrawn our support of a certain candidate.

That doesn't mean I won't end up voting for him, but I won't campaign from the blog. Not that I expect to have an impact on other voters, really. It's just the point.

I've been actively studying the third party candidates on the ballot in Ohio to see whether I can vote for one of them. Their views do not match mine on the issues that matter most to me, so, if I vote for one of them, it'll simply be a protest vote.

That's neither here nor there really.

This is the important bit.

Michael Totten wrote an article about a serious misstatement by Joe Biden on the debate last week. Click here to read the article.

Dori Kelly - The Glade Lady

The Glade Lady is very popular.

I don't know why. I mean, she seems to be a fine actress. The Glade commercials aren't too much to work with, though, so I can't really judge her abilities. I've had a number of comments refering to her "hotness," and, while she does seem to be an attractive lady, I wouldn't call her hot.

No offense, Dori.

I decided to find out more about the actress as a service to my readers. I didn't find much fact. I found many other people asking the same questions.

Someone on YouTube claims to have e-mailed Glade and gotten the actress' name: Dori Kelly.

But that's where the trail ends.

The closest reference I can get is an actress by the name of Dori May Kelly, who starred in a 1991 horror film called Winterbeast. The photo of the actress on that site is much too small for me to tell if it's the same woman.

They do seem to look alike, but I really can't claim it as truth.

Here's the trailer. You be the judge. You can see her at 55 seconds and again at 1:02.

Oh, and beware. The movie is disgusting for no reason.



If it's her, it explains the compulsion to lie. She's been denying her role in that movie for 17 years.

Related Posts:

The Glade Lady's Web of Lies
That Glade Commercial Madness
The Glade Lady Crosses a Line
The Glade Lady - Hot or Idiotic?

My First Concert

Twenty years ago, I went to the Ohio State Fair and saw my first live concert.

It was New Kids on the Block. Sis really wanted to see them, of course, and Grandma Kay decided to take her. She took me, too and we made a whole day of it; we ate fair food, played games and spent the rest of the day sitting in the stands waiting for the New Kids.

I wasn't really a fan of NKOTB, just a fan of fair food. I spent most of the concert plugging my ears and waiting for it to be over. I don't know that I had ever heard anything that loud before with the music and the SCREAMING.

Last night, I saw New Kids again!

Nothing's changed much. It was still the loudest thing I've ever heard. I think the screaming was even louder this time around. Older women have stronger lungs.

The concert was in Cleveland and Sis had an extra ticket. Someone backed out on her and it would have meant her driving to and from Cleveland alone. When she called on Wednesday night, I offered Angie up for the show.

Angie said, "Umm, or you could go."

Apparently Angie isn't a fan.

I went.

The arena was packed full of thirty-something women all screaming like 12 year-olds for the New Kids.

The New Kids themselves, put on a great show and even though almost 20 years has passed, it didn't seem too dated. They still have two members too many. Jordan is the one who sings in falsetto, Joey is the one who sings otherwise and Donny's the one who raps. But then there's Danny who ... dances? and Jon who.... umm... doesn't do anything. Really. Nothing.

Even their new stuff sounded pretty good, although Sis assures me that, when you listen to the CD and can actually understand the lyrics, the songs are actually fairly embarrassing.

Having had three sisters who were HUGE New Kids fans in the late '80's, I am very familar with their music and I knew most of the songs and could sing along. It was a good time and I'm glad I went.

Debates and Phone Numbers

I just watched the debates. I thought both Biden and Palin did a good job. I think they're both more likable than their running mates.

I feel myself pulling for Palin just to spite the mainstream media which would have me believe she's an idiot. Someone just called her resume vague, but I think words like governor and mayor are fairly clear job titles.

But that's not what this post is about. This one's about the bailout deal.

Again.

Tonight I found a few interesting facts.

The first comes from Perezhilton.com - if you are sensitive, do not click the link. Perez claims that the Senate bill includes tax breaks for Hollywood. I would think that paying a minimum of $8 for a ticket is enough.

The next few come from the New York Post. Here's a list of breaks included in the now 400+ page bill.

• Manufacturers of kids' wooden arrows - $6 million.
• Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands rum producers - $192 million.
• Wool research.
• Auto-racing tracks - $128 million.
• Corporations operating in American Samoa - $33 million.
• Small- to medium-budget film and television productions - $10 million.
• Fishermen and others whose livelihoods suffered as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill - $223 million.
  
• Forcing insurance companies to provide coverage for mental-health treatment equivalent to the coverage they provide for physical illness - $3.8 billion.

All-in-all it should add over $100 billion in deficit spending over the next five years.

Here's a link to the phone numbers of the members of the House. In case you want it.

Deborah Pryce's number is 202-225-2015.

Political Fatigue or Why I Hate the Bailout Plan

I am not an economist.

I took Economics 101 in college and then I took a few accounting and public finance courses in graduate school. I didn't enjoy them, but I like to think I learned a little something.

But, I still don't feel I can formulate a proper argument on the government's bailout plan(s). I've tried to keep up with the news - I've even stooped so low as to watch network evening news programs.

It's all propaganda; every website, every news story, every word. I can't make head or tail of anything. It's all Wall St. versus Main St. The banks are all collapsing! No one will ever get a car loan or a home loan or a student loan again!

And the media makes it all true by simply adding the word "may." Many employers may not be able to make payroll. Small businesses may go under. Your geriatric mother may have lost her entire life saving. In fact, she may be living in and eating out of a dumpster right this very moment!

Maybe. You should probably call her just in case.

Obama and McCain prattle on about change and whose change is best and whose will likely kill us all. It's inane. If this bailout business teaches us anything, it's that the elections in November won't change much.

I would venture to say that both parties have failed. The failure of the bailout bill in the House of Representatives on Monday proved that the Democrats were willing to sacrifice the bill - which they assured us was so very necessary - to sink the Republicans running for re-election. As if, after this, we need more Democrats in the House.

But we don't really need more Republicans either - although, at least they were against it from the beginning.

Now the Senate has passed a bailout package. Oh, our great and noble Senate has come to save us. Except, I read this article from the Associated Press. I've copied my favorite pieces below.

Their opposition appeared to be easing after the Senate added $110 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, plus a provision to raise, from $100,000 to $250,000, the cap on federal deposit insurance.

They were also cheering a decision Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease rules that force companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market.

In addition to extending several tax breaks popular with businesses, the bill would keep the alternative minimum tax from hitting 20 million middle-income Americans and provide $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana.

So, tax breaks. Seriously? You want to spend $700 billion in tax-payer money and pretend that you're cutting my taxes. So, who exactly will pay for the $700 billion? Oh right, I will when you cut federal funding to programs which my state will then have to cover and my state taxes go up and, then, in the end, you'll go ahead and raise the federal taxes later.

Raising the limit for FDIC coverage shouldn't be necessary. I thought this bailout package would stop my bank from going under. If it doesn't, then we need a new plan!

I've already said I didn't enjoy accounting. I am no expert and I won't claim to be, but why shouldn't assets be tied to price? If I buy a $10000 car in 2008, it's worth much less in 2010. I shouldn't continue to value to asset at $10000; I can't liquidate it for that amount. I have to value it based on market price. This easing of the rules will make companies seem to be worth more money that they are, or am I wrong here? Isn't this already part of the problem?

AND $8 BILLION IN DISASTER-RELATED TAX RELIEF? As part of the bailout package?

This is sickening. It reeks of coercion. If you vote against this bill, you will be voting against hurricane victims. If the Senate was serious about tax relief for victims of natural disasters, then the Senate should have taken it up separately.

Ugh. I am often one to defend government. After all, it's people. One must remember that our government is made up of people just like us.

Unfortunately, this has proven to me that they're not like me. They have different concerns than I do. I think that they've forgotten how to think beyond politics. I read somewhere that Congress was finally earning their 10% approval rating and I am inclined to agree.

I can't just blame the Democrats, although I believe that they've utterly failed as the majority party in both houses.

I can't just blame the Republicans either, although, let's face it, the Bush administration has failed in most ways possible.

13Months officially withdraws support for McCain.

13Months refuses to endorse either of the main party candidates.

13Months is inclined to endorse Sarah Palin all on her own simply because she isn't a senator.

Test

Angie asked me to "post something."

I don't know why, but I did.

I mean, I don't know why she asked. I did it because it's polite to do something when asked.