sticks and carrots

it was approximately 1.30am, and wr, his girlfriend and i had just walked out of a self-improvement workshop whose primary activity was about non-verbal communication. we'd all consumed a little too much whiskey before it began - with amusing results - and we were all in a jolly mood when we walked out.

wr took us both by the hands, and began to sing "we're off to see the wizard", i turned around and did a little dance while singing joyously. this was exactly at the right time to catch the lecturer stepping out of the classroom: our eyes met, and we had a moment of perfect communication that left us both laughing delightedly; two seconds later we both carried on (still grinning, of course; she was talking to someone else and we made our way to the stairs) and nobody else had registered a thing.

---the pre-hike egg breakfast on base wasn't such a good idea, apparently, as it left me with slight indigestion. i had to leave half a cup of tea behind when the cockroach-filled buses arrived, and the sound of the girls (not all female) freaking out accompanied us the entire way to jerusalem. all-in-all, a great start to the day.

it wasn't as harsh a day as the one we'd had before, but it was still disgusting and we had a fairly long hike right off the bat. on the way back to the buses i asked if anyone else was thinking of ice-cream, and was told to be patient.
"but i want it now!"
"geez, you're such a child," said the guy in charge, which was the perfect opportunity for some fun verbal sparring before he made me an offer i wouldn't refuse - i could go with the accompanying emergency vehicle which was parked next to a vendor.

i was thoroughly enjoying my ice-cream when two of the hobbits climbed in... one of whom smelled funny :/

after lunch, i snuck into a kiosk for a dessert ice-cream (of *course* i did!) on our way to the western wall tunnels - every trip they get more interesting as the digging proceeds. one of the questions our guide left unanswered was how the massive stones were transported, which led me to hypothesize that life of brian's aliens visited herod, assisted him in the construction of the temple and caused him to go completely nuts (possibly a result of the ridiculous experiments they performed on him) and do all the obscure things he did.

we were the first group out, so i acquired ben & jerry's (oh, yes i did) and laffy taffy to go with my coffee... i made a comment that received a surprised response, and was shocked to discover that my tongue had turned an electric blue :)

it was on the way back that i overheard our SC using the expression "carrot and stick" and i threw out the first thing that popped into my head: "in our unit, that expression means 'beat him with a stick then shove the carrot up his ass'". this was received with general approval and agreement :P

...

i managed to nap a bit on the bus, which is good seeing as we took about an hour longer than anticipated to return to tel aviv. instead of having enough time to shower before heading to the job interview, i was forced to arrive there late and in uniform...

i think it went well, all things considered. there's not much of a fit with the company but he had some advice and showed interest in connecting me with someone he knows...

on my way home i reached into my coin pocket, certain that i was only carrying one and two shequel coins, and tossed NIS 10 into a beggar's cardboard box. when i realized what i'd done i could only smile, amused, and decide that that must've been fate :)

i showered, and began to make my way to the university for an arts night. i missed the bus that takes me to the gate, and then hopped on another one that i hadn't realized was completely wrong... fortunately, wr's girlfriend convinced him to pick me up from the train station and we all arrived there at more or less the same time :)

the evening was a lot of fun, and aside from the communication / self-improvement workshop we saw a translated the bear (the actor's friends gave him a hard time and his responses were brilliant) and a very sober piece about two mothers who eventually eat their babies, but that was a little too long and a little too repetitive and i missed almost all of the baby-eating when i passed out :/

in between, we talked a lot and drank a lot. when the last show ended at 3am, they took me home and i was in bed by 3.30am. i had a headache by 6am and getting out of bed was tough.

...

today wasn't easy - i spent it napping, reading funny section quotes and figuring out next steps without actually touching the code. nystire and i got a ride to tel aviv so he could pick up his laptop, and we sat over lunch until he had to go.

the discussion was marriage; my opinions have been reinforced. now that i've posted, organized my entrance to the party tonight and guaranteed transport for the festival, i'm going to take a nap :)

---i'm disappointed by wired's ignoring of israel's participation in organizing armageddon.

i definitely need to trim the beard, as it's gotten uncomfortably bushy already. in general, i can't wait to shave it off - one distinct disadvantage is that i cannot blow air onto my face when it's stupidly hot because the hairs trap everything :P