do not disturb, already disturbed

what's israeli to me?

1. stopping in the middle of the only place that it's possible to walk through and completely ignoring anyone who wants to pass by.
2. talking about "those uncivilized idiots" who do just that.
3. exploding in a fit of malicious rage at the aforementioned idiots.

to me, that's israeli.

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saturday night:

i dragged pg out of the apartment, forcing her to strap on her blades and come with me to the climbing wall because we keep talking about it and never do it. we got there two hours before their official closing time, and were duly informed that that time has been moved forward by an hour and that it wouldn't be worth our while to pay the entrance fee.

buggrit.

instead, we bladed up to tel baruch, which would have been plenty of exercise even without the wind. on the way back, i rolled over a large board that looked absolutely perfect for our roof, and in spite of my being exhausted and already drenched in sweat in the humid heat, i raised it over my head and slowly rolled home. it hadn't yet become too tough to carry when an oncoming taxi flashed his brights, twice, to show me how impressed he was. when he stopped and rolled down his window to tell me how amazing i am, i told him that i'd be even more amazing if he hadn't blinded me with his unsubtle signaling. he kept on talking enthusiastically. like he wasn't getting the message.

after much strain, we got it into the building. the last two hundred metres were absolute killers. we made it up to the second floor before getting stuck, and after explaining to the nosy little old lady neighbour (hmmm, we have a couple of those around here) that she probably couldn't help us too much we shifted around and dragged it back down.

what a waste :(

i went past pg's mum's to pick up the car keys, then returned via my apartment where i packed stuff and picked up the second surfboard. i haven't a clue what to do with either of the boards.

a glass of wine and one piece was enough to get us ready for bed.

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today:

we woke up *early*, around 5.30, and made the last big move. of *course* a truck was blocking the entrance to our road on the way back. of course, there was no parking anywhere in the area and by the time i'd found somewhere relatively reasonable pg had moved everything upstairs alone.

she tried to get back to sleep while i lay in bed reading comics for an hour before leaving to do some do's. the bank visit was quick, the girl at the tax bureau was surprisingly helpful in spite of their policies being stupid*. the ministry of the interior was less helpful, requiring that i bring pg in person to authorize my change of address. okay, so i *won't* change my address. not my problem.

cancelling the standing order for the electricity bill was easier than i expected.

* if my previously designated "primary" employer still employs me even as they effectively become my secondary employer, until the year's end the tax bureau will continue to recognize them as "primary" employer and will assess the tax accordingly. that's just silly.

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i'd agreed to meet one of the girls who'd stayed in my apartment to give her the charger she'd left behind, and that agreement was defined as "in twenty minutes". i managed to take a bus home, shop, forget about the meeting, remember halfway to my new home, turn around and walk back to my place... all this within approximately twenty minutes. she then told me that she was already in her car, no more than seven minutes away. seven is a believably arbitrary number, no? so she arrived twenty minutes after that.

this is the girl who claimed that she'd searched her bags and that my camera had been stolen. and who tried to con the bouncer at the last party into believing that i was a dj. somehow, i don't think i can trust her anymore.

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i stopped at home for a quick sandwich, then took the bus to work.

the a/c wasn't working. the guy who came in to inspect it kept tripping all the power, teaching us the value of working on laptops with docking stations.

we have a secretary now. she seems nice, if a little confusing, and very useful. she knows shit. like all sorts of stuff that secretaries aren't usually expected to know. it's comforting.

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i received an interesting phone call from the head of the english department. they're terribly sorry, but there's no available position for me as a TA. however, they're offering me a Very Large Bursary to employ my development skills (now very l33t) on the department's website.

i'll be meeting with her after exams to discuss this.

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what a strange sensation, finally completing the damn project. no great sighs, no catharsis, no weight off my shoulders. it was more like a giant question mark. is it done?

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another bus experience on my way to the other office: no, seriously, i need help understanding this. i squeeze into the bus, the a/c's off and everyone in the front's unhappy. the back half is EMPTY. i say as much, and all i get back are blank stares and mumbles. is it *embarrassing* to stand where one can breathe? or is there some mythical fart-beast that israelis are conditioned to believe hangs around back there?

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i didn't hang around the other office too long - most of the hour and a half i spent there was wasted by copying files over our super-slow internal network connections. and then suddenly, without any great fanfare, i tested the application after a minor fix and it all worked. my second win for the day, and still no incredible relief / release.

s'not fair.

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i showed my apartment twice last night, both parties interested. were they just being pleasant? or did they really like my paintings? i've been warned not to take lawyers as tenants, but the one from yesterday seemed really nice!

after dinner and one piece, we sat poring over a couple of contracts. i've decided that contracts suck.

i got a little studying done, and at midnight decided to take a break and post this. from 00.10:

"wow. i just sent my first ever letter of resignation:
Hi <boss>

I haven't heard from you in a while, and in that time I have managed to find steady work. I regret to inform you that this does not leave any time to work additional hours, so I'm hereby giving you notice that I am resigning our contract. I hope this does not inconvenience you.

Please let me know if there are any problems, and outside the scope of my employment if I can help out in any way I will be more than happy to.

Yours sincerely, and wishing you the best of luck in your endeavours!

<totalwaste>"

i went to bed when the internet connection went down - fortunately it had resurrected by the time i woke up.

after burning through my comics feeds - how do people survive without smartphones? - i just received a response to my letter of resignation, and it's actually very sweet. now to get busy with tasks.

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frozen synapse sounds awesome.