undignified and drenched

i'm sick of my ride. after a couple of months, i got suspicious and checked that we were talking about the same time whenever we said "same time", only to discover that he'd changed his mind and "agreed" (all by himself) that "same time" had become twenty minutes later.

those twenty minutes don't mesh with the bus times, making things quite uncomfortable. he's usually twenty minutes late on top of those twenty, which pretty much works with the bus times... but when he's on time, he gets upset with me for holding him up.

this morning in particular, there was an accident that held up the earlier bus so long that i managed to catch it. to be fair, i was late, but even if i hadn't been late i wouldn't have made it to the designated pick-up on time. when i sent him an sms telling him it would take me five minutes to get there, i received a "you're not being punctual". when i responded with "the buses are running late", i got a very fine "the dog ate my homework" back.

i'd rather wake up an hour earlier every morning than have to deal with him. as it is, i have to sms him every single night to ensure that the next day will go as planned, instead of him just letting me know whenever it won't be the usual. worse than that, he's not only curt and abrupt, but he actually shouted at me once for responding to the confirmation with a "thanks, have a good evening" sms.

because i was brought up to be polite, you see, and that doesn't fly with him.

and i don't like his attitude in general. i think we're done.

---
otherwise, it was a beautiful, blustery, rainy wintery day.

the workday began with a meeting concerning my "personal development" in the military; the big chief got the idea, and i received a glowing report and a recommendation to have me released on the currently due date (as opposed to "we need this man to sign on for the rest of his life"). the response i got for my stating that i would like a raise with no strings attached came in the form of "this young man has a very special attitude" :P

my TL and i had a fight about new immigrants which dragged in half the section. as usual, he doesn't know what he's talking about, but the Big Deal was my stating that israel was the last place on earth i wanted to go (well, out of all the developed, non-muslim countries, at least). i needed to explain to him that his fantasy of every jew loving the country is swell, but the reality of our land is that it's a last resort. we don't have anywhere else we can go. and that's what makes it such a wonderful place.

the ambulance woes continue - each party claims that i need to get my money from somewhere else :/

i filled in a bit of my "wear sunscreen" presentation, and dug into the uml i've been working on. it's been a bit tricky, but it's beginning to come together and the results are exciting ^_^

the main part of the meal was horrible today, and i got back to the office feeling ill. that was when my TL slacked his jaw again to dribble out nonsense about amstaffs being naturally more dangerous than other breeds.

because of course, lawmakers are all super-intelligent and appropriately educated. i'm not a conspiracy theorist, i just don't think anybody's actually qualified to be in charge. conspiracies require intention. pulling one off is no simple task.

a number of interesting points have been made about pit bull attack fatalities, and they're valid. the bottom line, though, is the same as for any dog. treat your animals with respect. love them. feed them properly. train them. don't let your kids pull their ears.

i got a ride with my SC, who managed to drop me off only fifteen minutes away from where he'd agreed to take me, and only about two minutes before the skies opened and the downpour began. my dinky brolly was no match for the wind.

soaked and muddy, i decided to take the not-exactly-ideal bus all the way to tel aviv, and then switch buses there. that turned out to be a good plan. i had time to change clothes, squeeze fresh orange juice, bounce about a little, and bus to the physiotherapist.

the session was good; she hurt me, but loosened everything up. i couldn't suppress a giggle at the end - i have trouble sleeping in my own, comfy bed, but when my neck's at a strained angle on a massage bed i'm instantly transported into dreamland.

i went to organize fishpaste for my cousin, but they didn't have any and won't have any for at least another week :/

on the way back, with the sun setting somewhere behind the clouds and the wind howling and bringing everything to life - it dawned on me that it's only with visible air movement, shadows and moisture that the world is automatically personified for me, that everything has more meaning, that everything develops a sense of magic...

i saw an old woman hobbling along in front of me, and noticed that she didn't have an umbrella. i thought to myself that if the rain began i'd help her out, but it didn't and so i carried on. about half a minute later i felt a couple of drops, and a minute after that a drizzle... and by that stage i was hesitating over whether to turn around. the thought "you can't help everyone" occurred to me, but i still felt bad for not having returned. i can't even know if by that time she'd already arrived at her destination or not...

i picked the worst time to take a globe to find a replacement - another downpour. i managed to hold it protectively under my jacket while simultaneously helping some girl pick up her shopping (i haven't a clue why she'd set it down in the middle of the pavement), then arrived at the hardware store for a chat and some coffee.
apparently, the globe i have is fairly rare... but i did get some useful information about sorting out the lighting in my apartment. i think it's about time to pursue.

speaking of pursuing - the guy who sent me that flirtatious mail responded to mine (i pretty much ignored the hint and went for "just being friendly")... i sent him back a crapload of mixed messages and included a line about seeing girls, i'm now curious to see if he responds. i thought about tapping him for guitar lessons, but that's not fair play :P

i was planning on seeing red band performing tonight, but the mongoose's friend let me down :( [so much for his "special arrangement" with the tickets]
instead, i had dinner and took a bus to the lincoln for an hour of pool. i needed that. the walk back was very pleasant.

i've just watched an episode and a half of full metal alchemist, which has taken a slightly hunter x hunter turn, and am going to have to get to bed soon because wake-up is now back to the "other" usual :P