More sufganiyot and a word on democracy

First of all, in response to Yonit's complaint that my sufganiya list has been too brand-limited, I've added another three:

1. Chocolate "porcupine" – filled with chocolate and topped with "quills" of non-dairy semisweet chocolate ganache
2. "Rocher" – filled with chocolate and nougat cream and topped with chocolate ganache and rice crispies
3. Plain donut, complete with a hole in the middle, topped with classic chocolate topping

I feel like I should write something serious at this point, and so I will:

My democratic moment of the week:

Yesterday, a group of students enrolled in a pre-college program to complete their matriculation exams came to my office. They had discovered that matriculation courses had been privatized under their noses, so to speak, and that the organizations that provided funding for newly-discharged soldiers, ultra-orthodox, Ethiopians and so on had decided to stop working with the privatized body. The result? Somewhere around 12,000 students trying to qualify for higher education will discover on January 1 that their funding has been pulled out from under them.

The four students, all from Sappir College in Sderot, had come to the Knesset in the hopes of meeting with MKs and getting the privatization cancelled or at least to find a way to save this school year, which they have already started.

I spent around two hours with them and finished the day feeling really, really, absurdly good, despite the fact that they have very little chance of saving their education in the next two weeks before the privatization goes into effect. So why?

Because it is sometimes easy here to become very jaded and cynical. And sometimes it takes four students pounding the halls here, and camping out in the dining rooms to remind myself that not all Israelis think that the Knesset is simply an elaborate dance with a predetermined outcome. Sometimes, people come here because they believe that they can make a change, if only someone will listen to them.

And today – a relatively unknown MK caught me in the hallway, and smiled at me, telling me that he had already started work on the students' case. Sometimes, that means, the effort can pay off.

Happy December, everyone. Its one of my absolute favorite months. There is something very optimistic and rejuvenating about crisp, chilly air.

If I could give the world one assignment today, it would be finding a representative, and telling them what you think about something you care about. Because sometimes they listen.

Odds and Ends: Sufganiyot, sexism and more

Last week I had to explain why I wrote a terrible article on the previous Thursday. Here is what my answer wasn’t:

“Big N had just gotten back from reserves. I was pounding away at my keyboard as if I were Vladimir Ashkenazi. Big N was with Little N. Then came the curses, and then the call from Big N: ‘I need you to come here NOW. This one is exceptional!’ It was ugly. A bath was necessary. In short, my boss, the reason that I couldn’t focus on the article is that I was rushing to meet deadline while dealing with…poop. Lots of it.”

In my original dream-answer-sequence, I went into juicy detail as to the nature of said poop. But since I don’t have so many readers yet, and I would like to some day, I will quash that desire.

Instead, I simply apologized.

Second announcement: as I am married in to a family that seems to have a genetic terror of blood, I may have volunteered myself to be a birthing partner to a relative-in-law. Since blood doesn’t bother me. Or birthing. I hope.

Third announcement: I wanted to write something about a promo that I saw on television involving female MKs modeling clothing, but then could not find the actual context anywhere in the Internet. If anyone has found it, and would like to point me in the right direction, thank you. If you haven’t found it, and, like me, would like to speculatively trash whoever thought of such an idea, go ahead.

But fortunately, as a result of a blog-cooling-off break that I took between part 1 and part 2 of this blog, I now have a direction to advance with this.

There are about two female reporters in my specific line of work. There are a dozen male ones. And I have noticed that my (female) colleague and I have a special status. Anyone (male) we are seen speaking with in the corridors of power is immediately considered by our (male) colleagues as a potential fling. Of ours.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, people! As a reporter, I tend to look for sources. So do my male counterparts. The pursuit of sources may be a type of romancing, in the most poetic sort of analogy, but honestly, give it a break. And, to be fair, the only reporter currently known to be enjoying such a relationship is – sorry to burst the bubble – male.

I am sure that this is some type of sexism, but I don’t know which stereotype it seeks to vindicate. That young women in the workplace are necessarily having work-related relationships? Or is it giving voice to the gossipers’ fantasies regarding the young women in their workplace?

Fourth and final subject: Happy Hannukah to those for whom it is relevant. I haven’t eaten any latkes yet, but here’s the list of sufganiya (its like a donut, folks) flavors I’ve consumed (but mostly shared) so far:

1. Plain, with powdered sugar
2. chocolate and pannecotta filling, glazed with milk chocolate and topped with chocolate “pearls”
3. whipped-cream filling with Belgian chocolate glaze
4. chocolate and pop-rocks filling (weird but fun) with chocolate glaze and colored jimmies
5. white chocolate and pistachio ganache filling with semi-sweet dark chocolate glaze and ground pistachio topping
6. chocolate, banana and coconut liqueur filling with dark chocolate glaze, topped with banana chips and toasted coconut
7. melon vodka and white chocolate ganache filling with white chocolate glaze and a dark chocolate drizzle
8. halva and white chocolate ganache filling with a white chocolate glaze, dark chocolate drizzle and crumbled candied pecans

Happy holidays, whichever ones you choose to ingest!