Salad at the Deli. Who knew?

I went back to my old stomping grounds, Shalhevet High School, this morning to witness what the school advertises as the world-famous Town Hall meetings. The Town Hall meetings occur every Thursday, when the whole school meets and discusses relevant issues. I use the word "discuss" because even though the school touts the students' so-called democratic power, the reality it that Town Hall is just the students voicing their opinions, and the opinions counting only if they agreed with what the administration had already decided.

Today's Town Hall was not a normal Town Hall, although it started that way with the fifteen minutes of student announcements. Instead, it was a Q&A forum with head of school Dr. Jerry Friedman regarding financial cutbacks that included the firing of about four or five teachers. The issue was presented as strictly financial, and the students attacked the cold business-only policy and defended their favorite teachers. I probably should have seen this Town Hall coming; after all, it is April, tax season, and this is when the financial decisions get made, and the decision to fire teachers handed down.

After Town Hall I went to lunch with seniors Seth Samuels and Josh Tabak to Pico Kosher Deli. Oddly enough, I did not order a sandwich at the Deli, but rather got the Cobb Salad, which is topped with turkey and pastrami and a zesty (pareve) ranch dressing, something they lack in Israel. I mean, I was going to order a burger, but Seth ordered a salad, and well... it sounded so... so good. So I ate it. And it was good.

Tonight I completed the LA Sporting Trifecta by going to the Staples Center to watch the LA Kings take on the San Jose Sharks in a battle of teams fighting for their playoff lives. However, the teams are heading in opposite directions; the Sharks pasted the lackluster Kings 5-0 to close in on a playoff spot, while the Kings are now all but eliminated from the postseason.

Instead of watching the game (hockey is pretty boring in itself, and the Kings' efforts, or lack thereof, didn't help any), I took to some people watching. With seats in the lower level, I got to watch the button pusher, the guy sits behind the glass and illuminates a red light when a goal is scored. He looked bored and frustrated in the second period, when no goals were scored on his end, but much happier in the third, when Los Angeles surrendered three goals, including an own goal (one accidently scored by their own player). I also saw a man wearing an eyepatch, and a loud heckler who failed miserably at rattling the San Jose goaltender, who made some spectacular saves and did not allow a goal. Throughout the game, I listened to the four loud wiseacres behind me give a running commentary on everything from Kings' history to South Park to their summer plans.

So the Trifecta started with a thrilling come-from-behind win, then had a back-and-forth late-inning defeat, and ended with a blowout loss. Oh well, you can't win 'em all.