05/05/03

today was a LONG ass day.
firstly, after training last night, i went to a farewell bash at a bar in the industrial zone. i was exhausted, but after 6pm (i began training around then) i couldn't eat or drink anything except water, as i was going for a blood test this morning. so i payed NIS 50 (around R100) for as much as i could drink, which amounted to 4 glasses of water.
and i'm struggling for basic food money. hmmph.
anyway, i finally got back home this morning around 00:30, went to sleep, and then woke up at 06:30.
and i thought: yeah, right.

so i woke up at 07:00, got dressed, and left.
while waiting in the queue for blood tests, some woman asked me for permission to use my genetic material. after i asked for a translation, she told me that if i didn't speak hebrew, she didn't want it.
eh?!

the nurse taking my sample was fairly mechanical about the whole process. while she was preparing my arm for invasion, she told me not to move, and not to look in order that i wouldn't move.
i was really nervous.
i looked.
surprisingly, it didn't hurt, and it didn't bleed too much either!
then, i did something very strange. for some unknown and unknowable reason, i said, in hebrew, "i didn't move". she thought this was a question. then i said, "and i looked".
what the hell was i thinking? did i want a toffee or something?

so then, and i quote my mom quoting my cousin, "i owe, i owe, it's off to work i go".
so i worked for a couple of hours, and finally got the thing finished. there's still a few bits and pieces left to clean up, but the main job is complete, so i got paid today.
this is a big deal.

i turned down a job a month or so ago working on a really cool korean helicopter software project, because i KNEW the guys weren't going to pay me properly. and anyone who knows me knows i LOVE military aircraft. :@

the jews are a very peculiar people. not only do we go by lunar calendar, but we consider a day as beginning at sunset.
so tonight was the beginning of remembrance day, a day when we think of all of israel's fallen soldiers. so we went to this ceremony for our city, which was a little on the peculiar side. first, there was a short ballet at some point, hidden amongst the sad songs and speeches.

and then they sort of "forgot" to sing the national anthem at the end. we all just stood there in disbelief, sure that someone would begin it at any time; no one did.
weird.

so i managed to screw up the instant mushroom sauce tonight (i forgot to put butter in it), but it was tasty anyway and the texture was still good, so i can't really complain.
although i wanted to try baking potatoes again, and my potatoes have begun sprouting! that's a bit insensitive, i say. mean bloody potatoes. just when you think you've a solid meal coming...