good heavens - i went to bed early last night (after a couple of episodes of battlestar galactica), and woke up at 6am. not cool. i forced myself to stay in for another five hours, even though i couldn't do more than lie restlessly. maybe i passed out, but i didn't appreciate it as sleep.

i woke up, had coffee over a quick chat with protoplasm (with one eye on punch and judy - specifically the jan svankmajer - 1966 brainmasher), and headed out to coffeeholic armed with the iliad, the copy of sophocles i that i've been trying to return for a month and a half, and wearing my "if i could choose i'd be gay" shirt. the weather is absolutely phenomenal.

a) breakfast was great, two new waitrons. both were enthralled by the shirt, the girl is super cute and we kept making eye contact.

b) i didn't really get a chance to open the book, because a couple of people caught me with interesting discussion. specifically:

c) the professor. not only did she laugh when i told her i was returning the book (it was a gift, apparently), but we sat for an hour discussing philosophy, owner-pet look-alikes, shakespeare and tiramisu. i walked away with a couple of must-see productions, and a smile ^_^

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on the one hand, coming back at 5.30am from a crazy indoor stomp after a full, long and exhausting week might not have been wise, especially considering the fact that i had to wake up at 8.30am. on the other - the party was very cool, and i think i was actually happier going alone (i did send an sms to fn, but she didn't respond).

i had a burger on the way, pausing between bites to gawk in horror at the israeli version of big brother, food for the thought that watching shows like that make a nation stupider. sure, it begins with morbid fascination but after a while that sort of behaviour becomes normative.

speaking of thoughts, what interests me about my statement yesterday is the concept that when something has been tested with an idea, that idea doing the testing will make itself found. it's like coming up with an answer to "why is a raven like a writing desk?".

i was intrigued while waiting for the bus - an israeli and a japanese guy were sitting at the stop talking in japanese, and i actually understood a bit of what they were saying. unfortunately, i don't know enough to be comfortable trying to talk...

i got off a stop or two too early, and was a bit tired for the walk to the club... very glad that i'd brought my beanie and gloves, though. i even found a place to stow my sweater*, and was lucky enough that nobody scaled it while i was on the dancefloor :)

i ran into a frisbee buddy, though, and informed him of the goa reunion coming up soon... i've never been to goa, although i really, really want to get there and i think dreaming of it is enough :P

i didn't cross any lines last night, although a gorgeous girl found me and spent an hour or two dancing right in front of me. should i have? dunno. i was having fun - although the warm-up set took a while to get interesting, once it did everything was groovy :)

corner cafes in south tel aviv at 5am are interesting. i shuttled back to the area, stumbled back home, showered and crash-landed in my bed.

* laundry today: my red sweater has turned my white sweater to off-pink. i'm intrigued that none of the other whites were affected, and am wondering if it wasn't slightly pinkish to begin with.

** whoa! i completely forgot! i got in touch with the foreign ministry yesterday to find out if protoplasm could enter the country without them stamping his passport (our "potential peace partners" don't like people who've visited israel), and it turns out that it's possible. unfortunately, it's also at the whim of whoever's in charge of the shift, which sucks.

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not a lot of time passes...

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i dragged myself out of bed, grumbled, threw on some clothes, grabbed my shades (my new sunglasses are growing on me), and headed for the post office. filling out the form for the visa application payment wasn't complicated at all, and so walked out of there about half an hour later.

i decided to do some shopping before the electrician arrived, and was amused and irritated when some old lady shoved past me in the queue complaining that people these days just don't care about anyone but themselves anymore. nope, no irony there.

the electrician was on my doorstep when i arrived, and it feels like the honeymoon's over. it's not that things aren't good, but we're no longer agreeing automatically on every point. he spent the morning eviscerating my walls while i alternated between catching up online, sitting on the balcony reading the foreword to the iliad - which is extremely interesting - and playing with my guitar. i'm feeling much more comfortable with it already ^_^

the telly and all its peripherals now plug into the wall directly, and the plug point where they stem from is neat. he ran out of plaster towards the end, so the entrance hall and bathroom lights are a bit of a mess right now - and unfortunately, whatever he did in the bathroom disabled my brand new and super-cool bedroom light - i only discovered that after he'd left, and he'll be back on wednesday so i wasn't going to call him up about it.

he did an okay job of tidying up, but my attempts to clear up the little bits that were left convinced me that it was high time my apartment got cleaned. still half asleep, i went through the entire apartment and i'm shocked at how much work that was. i think i would've missed taekwondo anyway considering my present state... instead, i cleaned, watched the hangover* and have just caught up on enough that i'm debating whether to watch an episode of something or catch some z's.

regardless, i've decided i'm not doing anything tonight, nor seeing anyone. i definitely need to rest.

i received an official, double-sealed envelope from the army today, and all sorts of things went through my mind while i was opening it, especially the thought that my last six months had somehow come to an end and here was a piece of paper letting me know that the shit was over.

not so :/

i really, really like piraro on parenting. i think he's about as right as can be. especially the bit where he says "don't click this".

as i've mentioned before, i'm very comfortable with people who smoke copious amounts of marijuana. i'm just not comfortable with stoners. you know how i differentiate? stoners don't get shit done.

i think i may have complained once this week already the police serving the community. as opposed to controlling.

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it suddenly struck me that forms of martials arts, in addition to all the obvious physical and mental benefits, also fill a similar role to alchemy in terms of being a physical metaphor to the process of psychologizing.

or maybe just for me. i suppose that the same is true for a lot of things. or i could have misunderstood the whole alchemy thing. regardless, i feel i must share that i find the sessions to be extremely useful for reflecting, especially on a night like tonight where the last hour was spent stretching* and talking things out with my instructor.

* about halfway through my left foot went numb, which was worrying. it hurt getting it back in business :P

i slept a full six hours last night, kipped on the shuttle, and passed out cold for about half an hour on arrival. i definitely needed the rest!

we spent a lot of man-hours cleaning our building this morning. the guys who saw me cleaning out a particularly disgusting trash can with my bare hands suggested i be recommended for a citation... i'd say the same for whoever got stuck with toilet duty :P

the food was actually decent today, for the first time in, well, since we had an inspection a few months ago. oh, well. every day a surprise, i guess...

i heard tell the urchin's project got her teacher's praise - i can't wait to see it :) [i must remember to tell the tale of my portfolio one day]

i'm very glad the week's over, the training was productive, and i'm now bopping on the bus and getting ready for a night of stomping ^_^

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i don't find heels attractive on women (or men, but that's a different discussion altogether), primarily because i think it's silly to wear something on your feet that's bad for your legs.

in israel, however, i have even more of a reason to find them unsexy: the girls here [broad generalization alert*] don't *know* how to wear them.
i'm not just talking about them being inappropriate for the rest of the outfit - including the girl in question's weight classification - but specifically the technique. if you don't know how to do it, they make you walk funny and look ridiculous.

the women's liberation movement made a fundamental and totally impractical mistake with their symbolism: keep the bras, BURN THE HEELS.

and if you absolutely *must*, then at least do yourself a favour and learn the walk before you leave the house.

*and please pardon the pun

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the shoot with urchin went well, we think, but my mood turned sour. a solid shot of rum didn't help much, great sushi helped a little, but the lack of sleep combined with the constant pressing of sore-point issues [i couldn't get my head out of depressed mode] made for rough conversation.

we'll see if things continue to "go" after tonight. it's possible that it has to do with someone "encroaching" upon my personal space - self-hating defence mechanism, perhaps?

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i was running late when my canadian friend (waldo) called to say that it had begun to drizzle... i had five minutes to get there - i was all dressed up and ready to go - so i high-tailed it. out of respect for mother nature, i wore a shirt and took a beanie in addition to my ski mask: those turned out to be crucial during the next few hours.

i arrived at the cinemateque to find a sizeable group (considering the weather), and everyone was in good (read: crazy) spirits ^_^
waldo had already made his decision, and had turned back. he probably wouldn't have enjoyed the evening too much. the other guy whose call i missed would've been mortified. i, on the other hand, almost funned myself to death - slipping and sliding and jumping and weaving, and having a blast going full tilt downhill [that's where the ski-mask came in, and everyone else was jealous ;)]!

heeblet quite surprised me - we spent the first half hour or so skidding and chatting together, and she seemed genuinely interested. i had a laugh when i heard that she'd never noticed my tattoo before (someone else mentioned it to her), nor that it was the first time this season that i've worn a shirt :P [i wonder if that's not the reason for the interest?]

after a beautiful blade, i got home, failed to clean all my wheels (some of them are simply too tight), showered, and got to bed in time for a solid three and a bit hours' sleep - i found it *really* hard to separate myself from my pillow when waking up, and i got out of bed about twenty minutes after my alarm started chirping at me :$

it was a gorgeous morning - all i could think of was something quoted in an old trance song: "life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop to look around once in a while - you just might miss it" [originally ferris bueller's day off]. i napped on the shuttle and i almost napped when i hit my desk - unfortunately, some inconsiderate section-mates arrived early so that didn't fly :(

speaking of flies - there's one that's been attacking me at my desk non-stop since yesterday, and i can't figure out what he's looking for :/

i wasn't operating at peak performance today, and i even passed out during a meeting (i shouldn't have taken such a ridiculously comfortable chair). the food was okay, which was a nice surprise... although i was really hungry the entire day, maybe that was just desperation.

on the way back from lunch, the girl from the past two nights (urchin) called - some asshole had turned on the darkroom lights while a few of them had been developing... she was pissed.

i napped again on the way home, and had a few minutes to clear out my bedroom before the electrician arrived. when he's gone urchin will be back for a re-shoot... and then i've got plans to play WOW or munchkin in a bar somewhere. considering my lack of sleep, i probably shouldn't... tomorrow night's not only training, but a serious (indoor) trance party that i'm looking forward to. a little caffeine will have to go a long way ;)

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i might forgive, i never forget.

i'm actually very tired, but i'm definitely going rollerblading. i don't have a clue if this is a good idea or not, but in addition to my desire to do so, i have the added incentive that i cancelled gaming night on everyone at the last moment because the weather suddenly turned.

so much for trusting the forecasts.

lesson for the day: you're not supposed to call your SC "fucked up", especially not in a loud, clear voice when everyone's around. we were specifically talking about taste, but there's no such thing as context in a court martial - i'm very lucky he didn't hear me. the general response was urgent putting-fingers-to-lips in a shocked, conspiratorial manner :P

i finally got around to arranging the next section breakfast, and things seem less complicated than usual. experience tells me that this is a precursor to everyone cancelling the day before :P

i completely forgot to mention a lecture that we had yesterday - an interesting look at the morality of helping other people from a religious point of view. i agreed with most of what the guy said, just not the reasoning behind it. which reminds me - i'm making headway on my personal "wear sunscreen" :)

i had lunch with nyah-nyah and a few others, and i had to squeeze the cow. this was followed by an argument about being available... a bit later on, i noticed a missed call from her. i know i'm too honest for my own good, but responding with a "yes" to her asking if she's simply not important enough to be given my cellular number as opposed to my sat phone... that was just being a jerk. i did say it as if i was kidding, but i don't know if that covers it up properly :P

i'm still aggravated by my ex-evening ride every time i leave the base. the train got me back into tel aviv in time to get home, switch clothes and be surprised by the girl from last night - i offered to help her with a photography project, and i came through. we shared an incredibly entertaining couple of hours - unfortunately, her digital camera died and so we couldn't immediately see the results of her shots. i hope they're good, we definitely had a decent concept.

i had a quick chat with my cousin, finished watching coraline (marvellous! as wonderful as the book!), and am getting ready to roll. i've just discovered that one of the guys who wanted to come blading left me a message earlier that i missed (sat phone, and he has my cell number), and it's too late for him to join us :(

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waking up was hard this morning, and then our shuttle was cancelled. it took an hour to get from the main gate to my office, and that sucked. i was then tired the whole day, and it wasn't a particularly interesting one.

[something reminded me that i once seriously contemplated putting shards of glass in my father's whiskey... i'm amazed at how much of my childhood i never think about and how much i've grown. i'll never forgive, but there was so much that i've almost managed to forget.]

[while on the topic of things i'd forgotten: when i started getting into metal i developed a severe dislike for anything with an electronic beat. so much so that i recall being on a bus on an organized trip and shouting "i hate techno!" - i find this hilarious because from age 16 i've been unable to survive spiritually without house, trance and other electronica :)

case in point: this beat just makes me wanna pray]

i had to give a sworn statement regarding the incident from a few weeks ago. giving a sworn statement wasn't an enjoyable experience. i was particularly shocked afterwards to hear a detail that the chef had provided that changed the tone of what happened somewhat. still, i gave the detective the facts as i saw them, and i hope that it's found useful.

the bump and switch: i ran into a girl that i once went on a date with. something bothered me then, or i was simply not in a good place - either way, i was amazed at how much fun it was to spend the evening with her! she came back to my place after we had a cup of coffee*, and we watched the pilot episode of firefly before i walked her part of the way home. she wasn't fond of the idea, but really enjoyed it once it got going ^_^

seeking a reference to our date, i took a surprise walk down memory lane

* i confused the waitress with a girl i knew about three years ago... the waitress left our base a couple of months ago and had a sort of a crush on me. i think she was rather disappointed when i got her name completely wrong :$

i thank my sister for the mail: don't we all wish?

two amusing quotes:
how do wizards make love?
the return of the gazebo

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no headphones: i packed everything else, though. a bit silly, really :P

dry hands: dammit, is this going to be a yearly thing? i was hoping last year was just a freak :(
i don't like using moisturiser.

i spent the entire day (well, everything except fighting with our SC about last week's food complaint - the picture made it look okay) finishing and then using my application to transform unformatted data to html tables. it works really well, only it doesn't solve the problem of the *really* big tables i had to deal with. those required so much concentration that after the fifth interruption i stapled a sign saying "do not disturb" to my back.

all jokes aside, i forgot to take it off before i left the base. i'm extremely glad that it was on my undershirt, otherwise that could've been embarrassing.

ah, yes. i spoke to the team-mate who i mentioned on wednesday, and although he's not happy it looks like he'll be alright. i don't think he's any worse off than me, i just wish he'd stop with the psychotic playing with train tickets and entertain himself in a less creepy / more productive manner :P

we have a new kid, who's from his neighbourhood. maybe he can keep him company while travelling to base, maybe that would help. who knows?

i was pondering my current attitude towards girls and relationships while waiting for the bus. i'd like to find a suitable girl, but i don't feel the need to stress about it. i'm amused at how many people cannot manage unless they're a part of a couple, and intrigued by the quantity and quality of available women in this city. most of whom are very focused on hunting mr. right :P

whine ride: i'm still amazed that i'm the only person on the bus who thought to alert the driver to the fact that the rear door alarm was going off - he couldn't hear it over the radio, and most of us were going insane. he ignored it, which meant about an hour of high pitched whining. i couldn't nap as planned :/

training without caffeine: it wasn't particularly straining anyway, but i learned a couple of minutiae that are complicated to incorporate and make one hell of a difference!

scrapper and i seem to have fallen into a rather comfortable routine when he gives me a ride back to greater tel aviv. dinner was great, i napped on the bus while staring at my expressionless reflection morphing in and out of the scenery behind it, and now that i've showered i'm done being online and am hitting the hay.

i quite like the shit his dad says.

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shopping, and then the beginning of coraline. it's stunning, but i'm bushed and it's time for bed.

important questions for the day:

1. i don't contest the fact that mars delight is a delight - only i doesn't understand what makes it "mars".

2. do only dogs eat homework, or are cats sometimes to blame too?

wave is confusing. i finally got my experimental gadget only partially working, and discovered that when two people are simultaneously editing it's difficult to decide whether to behave like it's messenger or email.

this would make a great horror movie :)

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i spent the morning attempting to write a gadget for google wave, but to no avail. i have to retrace my steps to figure out why the same code that i took from the sample on the site doesn't have the same effect :S

to be fair, though - most of the time i spent on it was wasted hunting free web hosting. my usual is on the blink. as usual :/

i had breakfast at coffeeholic - it feels like it's been a long time since i was last there. i had a regular breakfast in mind, but part of the experience is not having to make tough decisions, and the chef's suggestion of the beef parisian could not go unheeded :D

the incredible bulk was there - i wasn't unpleasant, but this is the first time that he realized that i'm not enthusiastic about talking to him and after a couple of sentences (including "you've lost weight" - have i?!) i returned to my book with no further harassment.

i also bumped into one of the guys from skijar last year - he seemed really excited to be in touch. maybe we'll do coffee - we may not share the same ideologies (by a long shot), but he and his girlfriend are nice people.

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speaking of nice people - i've been bothered by last night's facebook conversation. a girl tried to add me as a friend, and after scratching my head over her photos (one showed her to be quite good looking, another showed a dark side) i sent her a message wondering if i'd somehow forgotten her.

"nope," she said [i write, paraphrasing], "i just wanted to see the rest of the album that you tagged my friend in". i thought that was a mite odd, as facebook allows that automatically. so i played ball, sending her a public link to the album - along with an explanation that i don't friend people i've never met.

her response: "nevermind. you are too heavy!"
that indicates to me that something more was behind the album request, but either way i don't feel that the response was justified. maybe because i'm "too heavy"? to quote my response:

i don't consider facebook a good way of meeting people - for instance, i'd love to meet you, just not online...

coffee and alcohol simply work better for me than "add friend" ;)

i didn't think that was such an unpleasant or creepy thing to say, but the almost immediate and apparently angry "i have a boyfriend" message really bothered me. this is one of the reasons i don't do online dating - i'm obviously not very good at it :P

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i spent too long online, and was rescued by an important message: "frisbeer". i hopped off to jeremiah's and had lunch and a beer with karnaf before we headed off to the park to meet with another friend. the frisbee was decent - it took a little to long to find my groove, though. the wind kept changing and i just wasn't focused enough to keep up.

one of the kids from taekwondo rocked up with an incredible camera - he filmed us for a bit, and i was absolutely astounded by the quality and amazed watching myself playing in slow-motion. as i type this i just noticed a "you have a new message" in the corner of my screen, and i'm hoping that's the video :)

i've just finished watching the second season of the big bang theory, so i'm almost caught up. i'm off to find myself dinner - meaning i'm off to go shopping, and although i wanted to see yael deckelbaum and amit erez i'm going to spend the night in instead.

child's play is happening again - and for once i'm early on the bandwagon ^_^
i have to admit that while i would've liked to be able to donate to a hospital in my own country, it feels really good to be able to choose one that's at least close to people i care about and give them what they feel they need.

all along the watchtower - the battlestar galactica version has been stuck in my head: what an awesome way to finish the season! i laughed yesterday when bob dylan's version of the song popped up on my playlist - i had no idea it was his :$

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