A Pittsburgh Winter

President's Day 2006; I have the weekend off from work (something that should not be taken for granted now that I am in the restaurant business). The plan: a weekend at 5700 Bunkerhill Street, Pittsburgh, PA. The verdict: a wintry winter two days with temperatures barely recording in the teens (Fahrenheit, that is!) giving me a taste of the "coldest weather of my life", to quote Jeff. I must admit it was cold, but to me any temperature falling below the freezing 32 O is too cold (and I thought I had it bad in Portland, OR!! and then in DC. Pittsburgh surely is something else!).

The four hour drive through "flyover country," to use a DC term, was almost uneventful until I took the wheel a couple of hours into the ride. Almost instantaneously the heavens welcomed my driving first with a flurry and then with a full blast snowstorm. For someone who is new to American driving and a virgin snow driver the drop came as an unexpected surprise. I had been driving CRV Mike for a little over a month now but never during the last decade since I got my driver's licence did I face such severe driving conditions. The snow lasted only so long, but the cold lingered on and on. Even now as I sit to jot this down and leave the cold outside I know that when it is time to go home I am going to be put face to face again with the unbeatable force of the chill. And face it I will.

While long johns underneath woollen pants, three top layers and a jacket, a scarf, a hat and a pair of gloves wrapped most of my exterior, my face remained victim to the bites of the wind. The raw cold struck my cheeks and instantaneously infiltrated to my blood and bones. Within seconds my whole body became one glacier on the move.

Is this the coldest I will ever be in? I sure hope so, but chances are I will find myself in circumstances where I have to weather Mother Nature again. In the almost three decades I have been around I moved from one temperature zone that I thought was unbearable to one that actually was more so.

In Lebanon, winter strikes full blast around December. Storms and chill come around the end of the year and into the first couple of new months. The temperature around then: 14O. Celcius, that is.

The next climate zone stop, Oregon. When I was getting ready to move out of the Mediterranean and into the Pacific the answer I consistently got to my “how cold is it” questions was: “not cold.” Only later did I realise that the answer I was getting was relative to where Jeff was living and in no way meant to be a comparison. The actuality I got: cold! Or rather, colder. The temperature: in the 40Os (single Celsius degrees, but still not quite freezing). And I thought that was cold! But cold was neither in Lebanon nor in the Northwest. Cold was waiting for me in the Midwest, and it welcomed me once in the Mid-Atlantic (and that was in April!!!).

Now that I have almost paid my dues to Winter, I suppose the next stop should revere Summer; my Mediterranean blood demands it.

So I am getting married, a 2004 introspection

So I am getting married. Wow. I would not have thought this to be happening. And for it to happen with a person whom I really really want to be with for the rest of my life. It is just amazing and so hard to believe. And yet it is true. He wants me and I want him and we are going to do it.

“I have not been married before,” I tell him. And why do I say that? We have been together for a while now, how is that any different from being married? I am doing a good job being with him and being around the house, how is any of that going to change when I have a ring around my finger? I do not suppose it will. But still the prospect of actually being married is so new to me. New and exciting and something I know I want, not because I want to get married but because I want to get married to this particular man.

But how do I really feel about getting married when my parents are halfway around the world and when the only person from my side who can attend is my childhood friend? How do I feel about not getting the attention and not having my day in the sun? How do I feel about not shopping for a dress, about not shopping for a reception outlet and doing all the arrangements? Actually, not that bad about certain things and bad about others. I know that one day I will get my day in the sun and I will be clad is a long white dress with Jeff at my side, but until then I am satisfied with what we can have for now. I am sad, however, that my parents, and particularly my mother, can’t be there. I do not know how hard this is going to hit me, right now it has not really dawned on me. Maybe I am suppressing the feelings or maybe I am being realistic. Either way I hope I do not break down in tears on my wedding day.

So when is the big day? We do not know yet, we are still working on arranging the day. I want it to be on the 4th of July, that way I would feel special with the fireworks going off in the distance. I would be able to make believe that they are for me, they would have been if I was in Lebanon, but that is part of another life. Right now I am here, in the US, with the love of my life and we are about to make yet another step into our successful future together.

We have come a long way from a year ago and we are still proceeding in our journey. It is not going to be easy and I see every dip in the road as a chance to learn and an opportunity to grow. And I have grown a lot in the past eight months. But there is still a lot of growing up for me to do. My sister says that I have not changed, but what does she know? She does not live with me and has not seen me in a long, long time. I look at myself in the mirror and marvel at what a different person I now am. I think I am more self-disciplined, more patient, less demanding and less spoiled. I still need attention but at least I do not stomp my feet that often anymore nor ask the world to stop cause I am feeling down. I have realized that there are other things in this life than me and that I do not make the world go round. I might make the world of one person go round but there is no reason for me to ask him to stop in his place because I am sad and be at my every beckon when I need something to be done. I have learned lessons of patience and I am sure they will serve me well.

I do wish my parents were here. They would have been proud of me.

Future Mrs. Mike

Ranya and the Sauté

So, what exactly do we, or rather I, sauté? Well many things to be exact, or not! Just taking a look at the menu should give you a glimpse into just how many of our dishes require that sauté person. From flipping omelets in the morning, and sometimes throughout the day, to flapping crepes and twirling pastas, sauté is responsible for bringing out the best of la Madeleine. And for a week that sauté person was me, assisted of course by Lucy, Jose or Rodolfo (whom, for some reason, I always call Fernando), the three Hispanic sauté experts (you would not think that Lucy did not speak any English, though, judging by her name)!

Working with Jose was the better experience of all three. Maybe because he spoke some English or because I helped him during the more quiet evening shifts, it was obvious that he and I made a better team than the other two and I. In all three situations, though, the sauté station still ranked the highest on my “favorite station” scale. Boy was I made to cook! And cook I did!

Whether it was the knowledge that someone else was going to clean the pans, pick up the trash or prep the ingredients, or the heat radiating from the gas stove that created that affection between my and the stove remains to be discovered. What I did discover however, was that there were no limits to what I could do while behind the counter; flip an omelet in mid-air and not worry about its falling on the clean kitchen floor (well, I did worry about it falling apart, but then after it did it was not too bad – it was all part of the learning process!); set the pan and its contents on fire without worrying about burning the food (I had always wondered how they did that on T.V. and was really excited to be able to do it myself. There is just something special to seeing the contents of the pan go ablaze and then settle back down); put too much clarified butter, oil, tomatoes, onions, sauce and not have to think about the loss of an ingredient (well I do, since I have to think about my food cost); and, create my own variations of the meals without having someone wag his finger at me – I was the manager after all! (I even put together two Lebanese dishes one time using the ingredients I had on hand – I felt like an Iron Chef!).

It was not all play and no work, though. It was work after all, and important work at that; the reputation of the food and the satisfaction of the guest was in my hands and I had to ensure that they got what they were expecting. And that is why I had my Hispanic assistant to one side and the recipe book and the quick guide on the other hand!

But neither of those would be present in the next phase ...More to follow...

Announcing the successful delivery of CR V Mike

Delivery Date: Sunday, 15 January 2006
Delivery Time: 1:00pm
Date brought home: Thursday, 19 January 2006
Height: 66.2in.
Weight: 3406lbs
Towing capacity: 1500lbs

Jeff and Ranya Mike would like to announce the latest addition to their family of two – a 4WD 2006 Honda CR V. The newest member was brought home on Thursday, 19 January 2006 after successful deliberations with the local Honda dealer in Arlington, VA.

The new vehicle comes equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission, cruise control, and an Anti-Lock Breaking system. Not only are there front side airbags, but we also have side curtain airbags, side-impact door beams and child-proof rear door locks (we have to think of the little ones coming in the future!).

There is enough room to comfortable seat 5 people with reclining front and back seatbacks and sliding fold and tumble rear seats. The height of the driver’s seat is adjustable, which is quite important for someone with my small dimensions; with this option I can at least see the front of the car (an important detail, wouldn’t you think?). An AM/FM/CD/Cassette audio system compliments the beautiful beige interior (notice the cassette option, one of my favorite features in the car; now I can listen to my old Arabic tapes brought with me from Lebanon over 2 years ago).

With a remote entry system along with an immobilizer anti-theft deterrent system and a panic button on the key, I am sure that the car and I are safe when I have to drive to work early in the morning or from work late at night.

To make things more interesting, they included a removable folding picnic table which doubles up as the cover for the spare tire in the rear storage well. Jeff also got his sunglasses holder (which comes in handy when you do not want to lose your sunglasses).

Our CR V is a breeze to drive and a pleasure to have. Enjoy checking out the photos.