hCG

Manny got busted for using a drug that women produce normally once becoming pregnant.

As has been reported, it is also used by men to restart their body's normal production of testosterone after a steroid cycle.

One thing that is not being reported, though, is that at times men get hCG injections for fertility treatments.

So, Manny could legitimately have fertility issues. But, think about it: if you know you have fertility issues, you've already gone thru sessions with doctors to learn about the choices you have. And you become an expert in all of the options, especially including the drug(s) that your doctor is recommending you take for it.

So if Manny really did take hCG to help him with fertility, then he would have known about hCG and what it does AND that it is considered a banned substance by MLB. If he really wanted to use it, he would have contacted MLB to get approval or to let them know about it. And he would have looked into other options.

Oh, and if you know about Manny, you know that he already has 3 children.

Judge for yourself...

Miss California

I finally saw the video of Miss California, Carrie Prejean, answering the question of whether she supports gay marriage.

My reaction: who cares? While I disagree with her opinion, I actually give her credit for stating up front that we live in a country where you can (now) choose (though I never heard the term"opposite marriage" before), but she was raised with certain ideals and that's what she believes. So what? But now, because of all the fuss people made about her stating her opinion, she's become a spokesperson for the National Organization for Marriage. Does anyone out there think that she would have thought one extra second about it if no one made a big deal about her opinion? OK, I understand. She could have been crowned "Miss America." But seriously, folks, did anyone reading this actually remember that that contest was still around, and if you did, does it actually mean anything to most people?

The gay rights movement has a lot going for it right now but still a lot to fight against moving forward. Miss America didn't really have to be one of them.

Inheritence

Just finished reading this piece in today's Op-Ed section of the NY Times. Beautifully written, these two paragraphs really sum up pretty nicely how I've felt about my modest upbringing and what I would want to pass along to my children, regardless of tax bracket I end up occupying:

I am not talking about trust-fund brats who get arrested for throwing hissy fits on Sunset Boulevard. I’m speaking of those perfectly well-mannered folks whose parents left them enough to ensure they never have to lie awake at night worrying about college tuition or second mortgages.

The young family who can afford the brownstone without ever enduring cramped life in an apartment, the couple who are able to jet away on holiday while the rest of us sit in traffic on the way to the local beach, the household whose teenage children are never asked to help out — there is something missing here, the sense of accomplishment derived from patient effort. It is hard not to think that their parents have done them as much harm as good by installing an express escalator on the uphill sections of their lives.

Bailout and Bonuses

I would LOVE for this bill to pass.

I would LOVE for the obnoxious, selfish, irresponsible fat cats on Wall Street to finally shut up and take it like the rest of us are taking it.

I would just LOVE to hear the reaction from the likes of Bank of America, Citi, and the other big boys out there who took taxpayer money and spent it on private jets, office redecorating, and bonuses if the bill passes. Would they reject the bailout money to save their seven-figure salaries? Would they turn around with their tail between their legs and say "yes sir" and "yes ma'am" and start lending money again?

I would just LOVE for this to be more than just big talk and for the government to finally take action against this. It's utterly outrageous and there is no justification for it.

Catch Up

I've been remiss in completing my Australia trip journal. Since returning home, things have been hectic-- catching up with work, mail, laundry, and preparing for parental unit weekend visits (my parents visiting one weekend and Andrew's mom and aunt visiting another). Plus, I'm on a de-cluttering kick. We finally re-organized the kitchen and got all of the kitchen-related wedding gifts out of the second bedroom (thanks, Mom!!). Now we need to unpack the leftover boxes of crap that have been sitting in our bedroom since we moved almost two years ago (if we haven't missed any of it over the last two years, then we don't really need it, right?), re-organize the linen closet, the bedroom walk-in closet, and tidy up the second bedroom. It's also time to buy new furniture for the living/dining room. The furniture we moved in with was fine enough while we focused on the bedrooms and the kitchen, but I'd like to get a buffet/hutch for our china and various things that don't have space elsewhere, buy a wall unit for our tv and electronics that are hanging out, and finally decide on permanent hanging spaces for some art. We went to a few furniture places a few days ago and actually found a few pieces we like, ironically enough, from the same place from which we bought our bedroom furniture.

So as you see, life's been busy. And it ain't slowing down for at least the next 5 weeks. Why? Well, I've got two business trips and both my sister and Andrew's sister are pregnant and due within 2 weeks of each other. Conveniently enough, my first trip is to Orlando the week of January 12-- the week after my sister-in-law is due, so if she has a boy, I will have to figure out how to make it to the brit (circumcision) in New York. My second trip is the week of January 26 to San Antonio, the week my sister is due. In between Orlando and San Antonio is President-Elect Obama's inaguaration, which I plan to attend somehow, somewhere on the Mall. And to top it all off, Andrew's job is keeping him verrrry busy and will continue to do so.

But I guess I should at least summarize what I left out of the trip log:

• We spent our last Shabbat in Bondi Beach, which was nice but would have been nicer had it not rained all weekend
• On Sunday we walked around parts of downtown Sydney
• We decided to splurge and stay our last two nights at a 5-star hotel. That was AWESOME. Some highlights of that: toilet seat that hugs your butt, free breakfast, free coffee, sodas, and drinks at the shi-shi club on the 30th floor, a bed you can just sink in and stay forever, and an Opera House view in a room on the 31st floor. Definitely worth every single penny.
• We walked 1/4-way acorss the Sydney Harbour Bridge
• We saw a ballet at the Sydney Opera House
• We took a ferry from Sydney to Manly and back again, which is apparently the best way to take in the views from the harbor
• We did A LOT of walking :)
• It took us 32 hours and 4 planes to finally get home
  

And, finally, for those interested, here are two links to all of our pictures. Note: the first 30 or so pictures from the Great Barrier Reef are not ours. They gave those pics to us for free. The water was unfortunately somewhat murky at our second dive/snorkel location so it's difficult to see the beautiful fish and corral we saw that day.

The Blue Mountains

(Yeah, it's been a while since the last trip post and yeah, the trip is already over, but I'll still share our experience in Sydney and the surrounding area over the last 5 days of our trip.)

On Thursday we flew into Sydney, rented the car, and were on our way. Our first stop was Bondi Beach, a western suburb, but more importantly, where the Jewish community lives. We basically ran out of our cheese, salami, and bread up North, so we needed some substanance to last the next few days. But of course we got a little lost, paid a toll we didn't have to pay, then found our way using the local streets. By the time we finished with lunch (meat pies at Katzy's!) and some light grocery shopping, we were really on our way, but it was just in time for rush hour traffic. Where were we heading? Why, the Blue Mountains! Home of the famous Three Sisters and one of the most beautiful and preserved rainforest landscapes.

The drive out west wasn't too bad; from the city to Katoomba, our final destination and the largest town in the Blue Mountain region, is about 100 km, easily doable in an hour or so. From reading about it while preparing for our visit, I somewhat envisioned a Skyline Drive type ride-- one lane each direction, with windy roads and beautiful, majestic views. Well, this drive had 1 of the three characteristics: beautiful, majestic views. Surprisingly and interestingly enough, the road up to Katoomba was two lanes in each direction, perfectly paved, not that windy, and had trian tracks in the middle of the road to boot. We were somewhat shocked at the relative ease in getting there.

The weather was a bit crummy and heavy rains were forecast for the evening, so we figured we would get to the BnB we booked and turn in early. We got to Echo Point right around dusk, said hello to the Three Sisters and ate cold pizza. The lookout was beautiful: you could see the storm clouds rolling in from the mountains right across the valley we were overlooking but the sun was setting in the west at the same time. The wind kicked up and we made it to the BnB right before it started to hail.

We started early the next morning and headed to Scenic World, home of the Scenic Railway, Scenic Cableway, and the new Scenic Skyway; three terrific ways to take in the beautiful scenery. We did the Skyway first, where the floor becomes see-thru and it feels like you are walking on air. The skyway takes you across and back over the Jamison valley. Next, was the Scenic Railway, the steepest incline railway ever. The drop is unbelievable and impossible to explain; it's just simply amazing that no one falls out of the carriage! At the bottom, we took a walking tour of the rainforest and learned about the different species of trees and plants and about the old coal mine that used to exist down there. To get back up the mountain, we took the Scenic Cableway, apparently the steepest aerial cable car in the Southern hemisphere.

We interupt this program...

We checked-in at around 3pm Friday afternoon and hopped online to check out the latest news from Mumbai. I was surprised to see the NY Times headline at that hour: Indian Special Forces Fire Upon Jewish Center. At the time, there really was no real information besides for that.

We left for Friday night services a few hours later and I somewhat expected the rabbi to lead the service at the end with a few Psalms, even if only to pray for the survival of the hostages inside the Jewish Center (let alone all the others in the Taj). But there was not even a mention of it.

On Saturday morning we learned that they stormed the center and 6 hostages were killed, including the young rabbi and his wife. But still no mention from the rabbi during his two (yes, two) sermons. I know that if I were home in Washington, we would have said a few Psalms and I'm sure our rabbi would have mentioned it. He wouldn't have expounded on it's political implications, as it's not his way to do so in a congregation full of real politicians, would-be politicians, fake politicians, government employees, and others. But he would have at least acknowledged the tragedy that was unfolding half a world away. In Sydney, the tragedy was unfolding a bit closer, but we got nothing.

Saturday was the first time since this trip began that I wished I could have been back home, even for 24 hours.